Silenced Pigments
Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem
The shadows on a marble sculpture mean
As much or more than its undarkened white.
They have a message, vivid as that seen
Upon the surface of a sun-struck bright
Enlargement like a cheek, male brow, or nose,
Those throbs like breasts and biceps—and the thighs.
It seems the lightest surface almost glows
And shaded portions’ meanings grow in size.
These statues used to be a rouged up to show
Thick colors. Seven hundred thousand days
Have scrubbed them clean so darknesses below
The nipples make them sing a tempting phrase.
..This music is more purified than tints.
….It is a brilliance made of shapely hints.