A PLACE IN THE SUN
– basking before Earl Stroh’s “Sunscape”
In the museum I love,
we stroll and consider
paintings, sculptures, and
a few random examples
of what passes for art
in this 21st century.
Weary, we sit and gaze
at Stroh’s serene, soothing
Sunscape – palest oils
smoothed in stunning simplicity,
no trace of brush or canvas,
a silk veil of softest paint
encircled by slim silver wire.
Glow and warmth are palpable.
I should have brought my parasol.
TWO FACES OF BEAUTIFUL
In his Albuquerque studio
on an easel near the north window
rests Howard Wexler’s stunning portrait
of artist Alice Seely
regal posture
elegant as a queen
sleek black hair in chic chignon
black velvet décolleté gown
a cloud of maribou encircling the neck
dangling onyx earrings
antique ruby pendant at her throat
aura of Arpège
delicate suede sandals
half-full Baccarat glass of claret
wistful dark eyes gazing into distance
mind in Prague, Nairobi, or New York
“Beautiful woman,” Howard murmurs.
At her Hondo Valley Iris Farm,
on a stone bench shaded by trumpet vines
and weathered wood lattice
Alice Seely surveys her garden
leaning forward
arms akimbo — resting on her knees
silver-streaked hair tied back with a scarf
faded denim work shirt
chinos and sturdy leather boots
gray Stetson shading her lovely face
pewter earrings dangling African-straw circles
(her signature design)
mug of black coffee cupped in her hand
luminous dark eyes survey iris, poppies, roses
suggest memory of soft, rich soil
scent of early rains and fragrant compost
“Beautiful this year,” she murmurs.
— ANN APPLEGARTH
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Copyright© 2016 by Ann Applegarth. All Rights Reserved.
Ann Applegarth lives and writes in Roswell, New Mexico, where she served as poet-in-residence for the High Plains Writing Project at Eastern New Mexico University. The recipient of an Academy of American Poets prize at the University of New Mexico in 1980, her poems have been widely published in the small press, in online journals, and in the Linda Rael art book Living in Green Acres.