I wrote this in New York at a visit to the Frick Collection. It’s based on the painting of Thomas More by Holbein.
Thomas More,
He turned to me,
Without a movement of his head;
“If silence gives consent”, said he,
“Then why be so weighed down with dread?”
For I may stare,
And I may brood,
These eyes intense with inward mood;
Yet, by Frick’s fountain’s cascade cool
I celebrate your soul, your all.
Thomas More,
He looked at me,
Without a movement of his head;
“My silence gives you full consent.”
So need a single word be said?
Paul Levy 