Artsongs: Miss West (Lawrence)

Woman of Substance

No stilted form of beauty, she,

No drawing room repose

Where ladies quiet and demure

Showcase their ornament.

She comes to light as from a storm

With darkened clouds and sea;

As one well-girded for the task

Of making her own way.

It might be at a ship’s strong bow,

Or in the marketplace

She makes her presence keenly felt –

Her gaze is strong and sure.

Indeed, whose heart do these eyes hold?

Whose life these arms embrace?

Whose steps are ever more secure

When guided by her care?

No simple ornament is she

To please a young man’s eye.

She is a castle in the storm,

A refuge from the gale.

So let the painter tell the tale

For all the world to see;

Her light against the darkened skies,

Her strength against the wind.

                                            ~ CK

____________________________________
Image: Portrait of Harriot West at the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Artist: Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830)
Medium: Oil on Canvas

< Previous Post                                                                                                                                Next Post >

Index

-