Hélène is Restless, by Shirley Glubka

Helene is Restless, by Mary Cassatt (USA). 1890.

Hélène is Restless

The child is half-held,
awkward arm over mother's shoulder,
a looking-elsewhere child.

The mother is half-hid,
blood-red scratchings are her garment,
her hair is black.

The scene is indiscernible,
smudged blankness, dull cream, dull green, ochre.
A nowhere place, most likely walled.

The artist is observant, entering, 
or restless herself, 
intensified as she works down the canvas.

But the child is a looking-elsewhere one,
whole-faced, thoughtful-eyed, active-minded. 
She is herself, and at the centre.

Shirley Glubka

Shirley Glubka is a retired psychotherapist, the author of three poetry collections, a mixed genre collection, and two novels. The Bright Logic of Wilma Schuh (novel, Blade of Grass Press, 2017) is her latest. Shirley lives in Prospect, Maine with her spouse, Virginia Holmes. Website: http://shirleyglubka.weebly.com/ Online poetry at 2River View here and at The Ghazal Page here and here.