Aug 2012
The afternoon is golden.
It has that light
only September
holds when
the angle of the sun
casts shadows
of a softer hue.
. . . and seeing you
in silhouette,
your back to the light,
(across this busy room)
there is a hint of a smile
as,
caught in talk,
your gaze attends
to the fielding of questions
. . .
So the while
I read your voice’s music.
Sketch the while
those gestures
I already know.
It has that light
only September
holds when
the angle of the sun
casts shadows
of a softer hue.
. . . and seeing you
in silhouette,
your back to the light,
(across this busy room)
there is a hint of a smile
as,
caught in talk,
your gaze attends
to the fielding of questions
. . .
So the while
I read your voice’s music.
Sketch the while
those gestures
I already know.
This poem was written as the basis for a short piece in two parts for cello and piano. It speaks of autumn and the quality of light and shade common to that season. The word Esquisse in the title has a double meaning in the French language – a sketch and a hint. So the phrase ‘a hint of smile’ is un esquisse d’un sourire. This phrase forms the central line in the poem.
