1
She smiles at me, a fierce and knowing smile,
Down from the Calendar upon my wall,
Watching me in my studio the while,
Knowing I’d like her at my beck and call.

2
She smiles at me, a smile almost obscene,
Her face both young and clever, smart enough,
Her body bronzed, her figure lithe and lean,
Her pose defiant, her demeanor tough.

3
She steps into the sea, scantily clad,
Looks back at me, her gaze so firmly fixed.
She knows for sure her image makes me glad,
She laughs that my emotions are so mixed.

4
She lifts her arms to emphasize her breasts,
And holds her fingers in her sun bleached hair.
She arches back, and for the moment rests,
Doing what she does best, without a care.

5
She wonders why I chose her for the role;
She could be Muse of Sunlight, Sea, and Play.
How foreign is this odd printmaker’s goal;
How hard the work, all indoors, and all day.

6
She’s not the Muse of Printing or of Ink,
But I was smitten, and I could not stop.
Bewitched by beauty, unable to think,
I took her from Sal’s Giant Grinder shop.

7
I took her to my basement workshop room,
And placed her next to samples of my art.
I opened windows to dispel the gloom,
I gave her music, too, to please her heart.

8
I started in to work, to do my part.
It was the year 2000, in July.
I set the Calendar with a light heart,
But never changed it as the months went by.

9
She does her best to help me every day,
But I am stuck, and nothing can avail.
The images I dream up melt away,
The colors I envision seem to pale.

10
I look upon my Muse some every day
Hoping for Inspiration to appear.
Her image stirs me in a different way,
But not artistically, I fear.

11
I know she didn’t want to be my Muse,
But I, with little knowledge of such things,
Had chosen poorly, and now can’t refuse
To honor her, whatever Fortune brings.

12
She smiles at me, this creature of the sea.
Her smile and eyes are not to be believed!
She keeps her smile and gaze attached to me,
And hopes that I will never feel deceived.

Copyright (2002) by Arnold Cantor.
All rights reserved.

[Begun January 29, 2002; completed May 13, 2002.]