Degas’ Art

Tu-tu-ed female figures

stand on one leg,

other raised to a bar,

calf and thigh muscles stretched taut

eyes lost to the concerted effort of a pose

hair severely pulled back, pinned

Skirt froth like snowbell flowers,

statuesque composite stance

Jockeys in bold coloured silks

allow their mounts to feed

before the challenge of the race

Equines dominate canvases

sheen of their skin

curves of their confident tails

the purity of their

animal innocence

Staccato beat of their hooves,

steaming breath

dew sparkled grasses

in insipid dawn

Muscled covered flanks,

necks taut toward the finish line

hooves chop turf in their speed

Women curved

in the motions of ablutions

arms raised, heads bent, tresses scrubbed

resting on tub’s edge

bending to towel dry an ankle

private actions,

loose in there supposed privacy

 

All these

scrutinized by the artist