“The Readers”

Words shared across time   

in lazy hammocks under a cloudless sky   

reclining upon overstuffed divans cocooned in golden silk   

perching on table’s edge
walled by leather bound volumes heavy with musk   

lounging under tree branches as shadows dance across the page   

wind’s breath kissing pursed lips   

lost in a crowded room   

standing in solitude   

drifting away from prim daily obligations while haloed in sunshine   

drenched in orange blossoms   

absorbing thoughts and ideals   

whispered dreams   

escaping into ancient worlds or a lover’s arms   

imagining a future sublime

Copyright 2012 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman
  

A Lady Reading
a Book
in a
Library
Interior

Thomas Jakob
Richter, 1879

A Love Story
Emanuel Phillps Fox, 1903

A Woman Reading
Antonio Rizi, 1896

At Home
Juilus Lebalnc Steward, 1897

Dans la Bibliotheque
Auguste Toulmouche,
1872

Easter
Joseph Christian Leyendeker, 1905

Girl Reading or A Fair Student
Charles Edward Peerugini 1878

Morning Sun
Harold Knight, 1913

My Eldest Daughter, Suzanne with Milk and Book
Carl Larsson, 1904

Peaceful Reading
Fernand Toussaint (1873-1955)

Reading by the Morning Light
Karl Vilhelm Holsoe

Woman Reading on a Settee
William Worchester Churchill,
between 1905 and 1910

The Letter
Jan van Beers, 1885