Artistic Misperceptions

her eyes are said to follow you
only one side of her smile is genuine
the other full of hidden secrets
all locked away under the façade of a portrait
Is the Mona Lisa happy?

skies of blue, skies of stars, wisps of smoke floating in a
sky of scars
Starry Night

Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte
little girl in a white dress, what do you look so intently at?
Why do the others bask under shadows and trees while you are exposed to the light?
While you reach for the heat? Perhaps your innocence is pure, untainted with greed?

a girl not with gold or silver, no gems, but a tiny moon dangling against her ear
Girl with a Pearl Earring like a sun against shadow
how unconventional
that her smile shows her teeth

artists are riddlers
paintings or ciphers?
makers of puzzles and time