Is It What You See In The Painting Poem by Mary Angela Douglas

is it what you see in the painting
or is it what you are or were
sunlight flecked in your once upons

transfixed by beauty from the first days.
here is the light on the tree mysteriously
transfixed and the moment stays

within its frame;
the painter's acclaim.
the sky branches-

but you're outside of it, regretfully,

and even the light changes

all aspects in an opaline shimmer, glaze.
will you shine someday, far away,
with a wish to return

to the deeper green there?
the tree in shadow,
when Time has burned away.

mary angela douglas 29 december 2016