Looking Deeply Poem by Keith Shorrocks Johnson

Who is this young woman with her blue eyes?
Is it the artist or the subject or perhaps both?

Who is reflected in the mirror - what is seen?
Who is the the painter - what is the intent?

How does beauty manifest itself - Question?
Surely the subject and the artist must object?

Look at me - look beyond - look behind
What is your intention in this interrogation?

The ordinary can so easily become uneasy
Can you sense the menace in exposure?

Even in the children, there are portents:
Innocence and beauty are unsure - at risk

Let them play and we will listen carefully
And note the way in which the music unfolds

Let us watch who is sad, who is centre-stage
Who is wistful, who is calm and who looks away

And this Midsummer, we should above all become aware
That looking deeply into things is a sacred duty - the art of life.