The morning light reclines Confident in its own beauty As the body of a young woman Dreaming on a chaise Indifferent to the artist’s gaze And the sighing Of charcoal over paper Shading into a pretense Of permanence His fleeting desire Soft slope of shoulder Curve of spine and hip And now rising Shrugs off a dream Of shadows and Wrapping itself in a white sheet Turns without a glance To leave the room 6 March 2017 Vancouver