Poussin, by Stefan Ferguson

Marriage, by Nicolas Poussin (France) 1637-1638

Poussin

Moy qui fais profession de choses muettes …

My art is tacit and barely there                                                        
Where you imagine noise and heft.
Yes, on walks I study pebbles,                                          
Minerals, wood: solid stuffs;                           

I set words upon my figments,                           
Speak their minds. Art takes form
Behind veils of words; a silent                         
Room for speechless looking. Look,

The earthy floor, the cool slabs
Are just imagination finely spread.                                     
That woman who seems half column:

Is she cold and hard to touch,
Does her mantle rustle, as she gazes
Somewhere, nowhere, apparent, mute?     

Stefan Ferguson

Stefan Ferguson is an Englishman who has lived in Germany for 25 years. He teaches English and French at a high school near Lake Constance.