"Girl With a Pearl Earring" by Edward Baranosky
Poetry
Girl With a Pearl Earring
(From the Vermeer painting)
You feel unseen eyes
Boring into your back,
Your shoulder
Turning toward the mirror,
A silent word on your lips.
A sudden gesture,
The naked teardrop earring,
The contrapposto
An unforeseen classic pose
Stopped in mid-question.
The hazy light
Muting old Amsterdam,
Lights your eyes.
But there is only one pearl.
A Malay pirate wears the twin.
The artist’s hand
Caresses the canvas.
Lost in paint,
The imprimatura of dreams
Becomes invisible.
Your almost smile stops,
A blush rises quickly
And fades slowly,
The sight of your self
Reflected in his eyes.
Edward Baranosky has painted seascapes since he was seven years old. His focus on marine-scapes, draws him back to visit his native home in the American east coast, for inspiration from the North Atlantic. His work emphasizes the present - in the ever-changing moments of water. As a poet-artist he crosses the channels and pathways between the visual and the textual. He continues to exhibit in the United States and Canada. Baranosky owns a small press EAB Publishing, for poetry chapbooks and related material. He currently lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Education: BFA 1969, Rhode Island School of Design, Major in Painting