Portrait of Rosamund Croker,
later Lady Barrow at Seventeen
by Thomas Lawrence
Her eyes are deep and dark, they hold
Me still and resolute
Her face so pure so innocent
A fact beyond refute.
Her body speaks more than her eyes
Its supple curves that tease
With taunts of red on sleeve and chair
She almost seems to breathe.
The charms of this young girl has made
Admirers weak at knees
Alive in paint she stays a rose
That blooms through centuries.
I would have asked her if I had known her then:
What do you fear sitting there
Rosamund, Rosamund?
Do you fear Coming Out
While the paint dries and
forms a case around your heart?
What do you fear sitting there
Rosamund, Rosamund?
All the men who fall at your feet
And leave you broken?
What do you fear sitting there
Rosamund, Rosamund?
Young, fresh, new
What do you fear
Getting old or never getting old?
What do you fear
Rosamund, Rosamund
As this paint dries and shrinks your soul
Does it leave you crumbling
While this painting stays forever young?
(c) Gay Reiser Cannon 2011 * All Rights Reserved
This photo does not do justice to the masterpiece I just saw at the National Portrait Gallery London
THOMAS LAWRENCE – REGENCY POWER & BRILLIANCE
by Thomas Lawrence
Beachanny's Texas 
Great job, anny! not only in both form and execution but captured the photo so well. write on! 🙂
Beautiful! Well written and true to form. Inspired art, indeed 🙂
This id great,
thje rhyme scheme gives it such a good rhythm
How I would love to see the National Portrait Gallery…hell, how I would love to see London in general. But I’ve never been anywhere but the U.S. of A…and Canada, but that was just for a couple hours at a time, just across the border. Oy vey.
Beautiful image chosen; your descriptions really capture the portrait in all its youthful, colored glory.