Terpsichore, maiden muse in silhouette How I found her there in still life pirouette And her brown eyes they did ensnare me Within my sightline, otherwise perfunctory This rip in space-time unraveled my world Lost in the gaze of a most sumptuous girl The way she glides in stop-motion poses Tableau vivant, a heart that never closes Every day I fall in love with a brunette ballerina With opalescent skin like iris florentina And her voice, melodic and calm As she whispers the libretto of our psalm Too many years spent far afield Sans the true nature of my heart revealed And the days they waned; yet why? As we tried on our new lives Vainly dreaming of my counterpoint’s homecoming To be embraced again in arms so loving She—a vision of antiquity In chipped-stone Greek mythology I am sorry for my years of discontent I am sorry for the words I’ve spent Under the scrutiny of prosody and scansion; Could I ever hope to recapture her attention? A love I am unable to define As I lack the hardened rules of meter and rhyme For now she stands before me, Terpsichore, a muse and allegory Of a life without a constant Doth a heart would be truly haunted To starve myself of what I truly need I ask, “Do I exist if you can’t see me?”
beautiful poem, tony ❤️. how lucky your wife is to have had you & to be immortalized beyond life in such a wonderful way -- just like all the greats in time/history -- she will live on & forever be with you through your words and your art. thank you for sharing this tribute!
Such a beautiful poem and tribute to your wife, I’m so sorry for your loss 🙏🏻🩰🦢