Restored

After Monet, “Woman with Parasol” 1875

In the springtime of her breath
she stands in an Argenteuil field
where a breeze twirls and lifts her skirt
while the undying sky unfurls.

With her toe, she teases her shadow,
faithfully fluttering at her side.
Some steps apart, on their family stroll,
her boy has paused to watch and wait.

She grips her parasol for shade
and surety, and slowly she turns,
and turning she can almost see
that straw-brimmed hat and those pink cheeks.

And I, caught up in sky-blue strokes,
the swirling stasis of Monet,
cling to the Elysian field
alive with wild lavender

where my boy stands, quick, restored.
After this winter’s span of death
we will meet in Monet green
in the springtime of my breath.

• About
• Also by this author

Susan Delaney Spear

Susan Delaney Spear is an Associate Professor of English at Colorado Christian University. Her poetry collection Beyond All Bearing was published by Wipf and Stock in 2018. She is the co-author of Learning the Secrets of English Verse forthcoming from Springer, and her second collection of poetry On Earth...is forthcoming from Wipf and Stock.

Also by Susan Delaney Spear (see all)

• Restored - February 25, 2022
• A Long Obedience to an Exacting Muse - June 25, 2018

Author: Susan Delaney Spear

Susan Delaney Spear is an Associate Professor of English at Colorado Christian University. Her poetry collection Beyond All Bearing was published by Wipf and Stock in 2018. She is the co-author of Learning the Secrets of English Verse forthcoming from Springer, and her second collection of poetry On Earth...is forthcoming from Wipf and Stock. View all posts by Susan Delaney Spear