The Reading Girl

1.

she is all white
this afternoon
light comes through
the window
her night-
gown hangs open
exposing her breast
the whisper
of a finger
turning
the page and
her gaze

2.

also open
the book
in her hands.
this is what
you brought me
here to see

the way the pages
are cut in stone
the straw
of her chair
breaking.
how much time
Magni must have spent
chiseling away
at this moment.

3.

what curator's
wet dream
to put her
here in the room
filled with dark horses
and warriors
dying
centaur
tiger suppressing
an antelope

4.

from another angle
the book
covers her
breast.
for years
you had only
seen it this way.

5.

a man and a woman
enter the room.
he tells her he almost
bought the reading girl.
i shoot you a look.
they leave.
what could be
sexier
than a woman
reading

6.

i open my book
and begin to read.
you look at old medallions.

7.

if we were looking
at abstract art
it might have been
otherwise
but here we come
to find a stillness
only associated with stone
to watch light move
across an almost empty room