06-25-2019, 06:20 AM
An Image of Gray revision
Maybe Dorian had the right of it
- beauty is the only art worth seeking.
But could we peer behind his youthful eyes
- or, through a mirrored reflection, our own -
there we’d view the true effects of time:
a touch of cunning about the soul’s expression,
perhaps a twitch of cruelty along its aging lips,
or, instead, just a diamond slab
- chiseled and yellow, impenetrable and flawed.
An Image of Gray
- after Oscar Wilde
Perhaps Dorian had the right of it
- beauty is the only art worth seeking.
But could we peer behind his lovely eyes
- or, through a silvered looking-glass, our own -
there we’d view the true effects of time:
a touch of cunning about the soul’s expression,
perhaps a twist of cruelty edging its aging lips,
or, instead, just a diamond slab
- chiseled and yellow, impenetrable and flawed.
Maybe Dorian had the right of it
- beauty is the only art worth seeking.
But could we peer behind his youthful eyes
- or, through a mirrored reflection, our own -
there we’d view the true effects of time:
a touch of cunning about the soul’s expression,
perhaps a twitch of cruelty along its aging lips,
or, instead, just a diamond slab
- chiseled and yellow, impenetrable and flawed.
An Image of Gray
- after Oscar Wilde
Perhaps Dorian had the right of it
- beauty is the only art worth seeking.
But could we peer behind his lovely eyes
- or, through a silvered looking-glass, our own -
there we’d view the true effects of time:
a touch of cunning about the soul’s expression,
perhaps a twist of cruelty edging its aging lips,
or, instead, just a diamond slab
- chiseled and yellow, impenetrable and flawed.
There is no escape from metre; there is only mastery. TS Eliot