Springtime

(Inspired by Degas' Wax Models)

Like God's own articulate fingers,
Degas' have danced
to mold inanimate dancers in form as gay
as jonquils that dance in the wind.

In God's own mind,
these dancers take shapes he intended,
true forms that stay
unchanged, unrepentant in time.

Cast in wax and clay,
Degas' shaping powers extend
to arms and legs
so delicate the form is movement.

The space surrounding these forms
plays the part of wind
that must pause and wait, pause and wait
for each dance to end.