Mandarins II

2

Two ladies of uncertain age S
it by a window drinking tea
(No persiflage!)
With assured tranquillity
Regard
A distant prospect of the sea.
The outlines delicate and hard
Of gowns that fall from neck and knee;
Grey and yellow patterns move
From the shoulder to the floor.
By attitude
It would seem that they approve
The abstract sunset (rich, not crude).

And while one lifts her hand to pour
You have the other raise
A thin translucent porcelain,
Murmurs a word of praise.