--Edgar Degas’ Millinery Shop
Cassatt’s New Hat
Seemingly alone amidst rich colors, hat-stands
and sturdy bureau,
she could dream and re-imagine.
She considered the blue,
decorative as cloudless sky,
with an exaltation of indigo bunting.
There was the creamy one
calm and soft,
buttered with lush gold.
Two were relegated to shadow,
old hat, abstraction;
clearly not her.
The one that came closest
was springtime itself,
wreathed in joy.
But she was more serious now,
dressed for work
in metanoia olive-silk.
She picks up a formless mass
with kid gloves;
a purposeful pin in her painted lips.
In the fungible lump of future,
perhaps she sees his face;
But it’s a trick of the changeable light.
When her creation’s done,
it will go beyond impression, canvas brainchild,
to new revelations of the woman’s desire.