a woman peeling apples, with a small child

straight off the blade she hands 
 it over her small hand the long peel for divination  
the long peel hissing like a boa constrictor         how long 
it must take to dress the daughter in all of her  
gathers & kirtles & caps 
 her pinafore pockets full of oyster shells yes


what she can't see     what hurts her eyes          & like a genre painting I'll include

the image of another             painting or         a mirror
or a dog                              how Vermeer preferred women working alone  
                                        how this also      uses natural light in an otherwise unlit interior

when the old woman peels apples she's surrounded 
 by circles & keeps         her book in good light             & when 
she is young it's a rich   brocade              steady hands 
 a hairband & a little jut of thought in her jaw                           (see also dutch        quiet   )

Credit

About this Poem

"This poem is from 'genre scenes,' which is a series of ekphrastic poems responding to paintings of interiors and/or paintings of women working in the home. I started the series to learn more about the 17th century Dutch genre scene—including how its historical reception has reflected cultural response to the domestic."
—Pattie McCarthy

Author

Pattie McCarthy

Pattie McCarthy is the author of seven books of poetry and a dozen chapbooks, most recently extraordinary tides (Omnidawn Publishing, 2023), and Wifthing (Apogee Press, 2021).

Date Published

03/26/2014