FRAMED

I have my own private art gallery
hung on the building across the street.
There on its facade is my collection,
each a scene inside a window frame.
I know the charms of each painting
like a museum buff knows
the paintings on the walls
of the Metropolitan Museum.
Woman In Red Apron Preparing Dinner.
Man In Striped Pajamas Shaving.
Still Life With Television.
And my favorite,
Man In Armchair Reading,
a simple composition, perfectly balanced:
a man bent over a book,
his white hair and shoulders
illuminated by a golden glow,
shades of Vermeer.
Day and night,
whenever I look, he is always there,
in exactly the same position.
So much so that I started to wonder.
Doesn't he ever go out?
Doesn't he ever get tired of reading?
The thought even crossed my mind,
maybe he really is just a painting.
But then one day
he reached for a cup of coffee.


© Ellen Azorin