Two Poems After Vermeer, by Joan Kantor

Officer and Laughing Girl, by Johannes Vermeer (Netherlands) 1657

Caution

In a masterful play of design
Vermeer leads us on

guiding our eyes

first to this young woman’s face
in its white-kerchieved
fur-collared frame
fully engaged
as she listens to a story being told

The soft-beige-gold 
of her satin robe
like her smile
is aglow
in the light flowing from a window

The curved index finger
of her upturned hand on the table
is an open invitation
into her world

one that’s too small
for this oversized man
in the foreground
foreboding in demeanor
with the worldliness of a warrior

There’s a boastful sense
of confidence
in the firmness of his ruffled hand on hip
in the jut of his elbow
and the vivid red of his clothing

The artist
paints the bold black rim of the officer’s hat
at a rakish angle 
that points to a map on the wall

telling it all

Enamored
she’s blind to that image
behind her

but 
if she falls for this wanderer
someday far away he’ll philander

and while he’s telling those tales
to charm someone else

she’ll be raising his babies
by herself

Maid and Mistress, by Johannes Vermeer (Netherlands) c.1667

The Space Between Them

As always,
Vermeer hints at half a story.

Perhaps he’s fooling us into focusing on questions
surrounding an unopened letter
that a young maid is handing to her mistress,
who, with pen in hand,
is about to write her own.

Both young women gaze at the envelope
with tentative faces,
anxious to find out what’s inside.

As their hands almost touch,
we sense a shared secret
and more.

As was often the case
they probably once played together,
laughing while rolling hoops with sticks,

till society and servitude intervened,

but now, one woman, 
though blending into the background,
in her plain brown frock,
silently, softly
reaches out towards the other,
in her contrasting pearls, fur,
luminous-gold-velvet robe,

and as their downcast eyes briefly meet,
sisterhood fills the space 
between them.

Joan Kantor

Joan Kantor has completed several poetry collections and has been published in numerous journals. She has won The Hackney Literary Award for Poetry, first place for poetry in The Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards and has been a finalist in several other contests.  She has mentored young poets at The Sunken Garden Poetry Festival, performs in Stringing Words Together (violinist and poet duo) and does readings and workshops throughout the Northeast and Florida. Her work focuses on nature, the human condition and the arts.