Painterly Pearl
Saint Paul, 13 March 2011
A few Dutch painters
pulled white rabbits from
pre-enlightenment top hats
Vermeer's sleight of hand
was indirect sunlight
Playing her eyes off the pearl
like a magician performs
a three-cup shuffle
The pearl forever transformed
by light rendered wavy by
the girl's circumstances
He sawed her box in two
long before future historians
could deny his intent