Vermeer in Cambridge

So Johan or Johannes or Joannis...

Let us settle for Jan;

You were the toast

of the Dutch Golden Age,

Despite a short life

From 1632 to 1675

Or thereabouts;

You struggled to support

Your eleven children ~

Enough for a cricket team;

Your legacy is thirty-

Two oil paintings on canvas

And two more on wood

They are scattered across

Europe and America

But you can see four

Of them at the

Fitzwilliam Museum

In Cambridge

Until 12th January

Today i saw your pictures

In Cambridge

But not the Girl with

The Pearl Earring;

Instead there were other meisjes,

Or perhaps the same one

Making lace and

Having keyboard lessons

At your house in Delft;

The Lacemaker was quite small

On loan from the Louvre

She is busy with her bobbins

And does not have time

To make movies with

Menheer Firth;

She is smiling shyly

Hoping that her music

Master will notice the lace

Tippet she is finishing;

Soon she will lay aside

The satin cushion

S t r e t c h

And look out

Of the casement window

At the bustle of

Delft's quayside;

Glimpsing her

Music master

Walking past the

Oude Kerk

Munching a

Maatjes herring,

She hopes that

He will not leave

Greasy marks on

Her virginals

>o00O||){:>