The Draughtsman

By Wendy Werdan

From curled toes to the ankles
I sketch in graphite,
his fibula shrinking with distance,
in a contour line of inner and outer edges,
along the calf,
stretching upwards,
cross-hatching strokes
and irregular line breaks.
I blend and shade,
the ball and socket of his knees,
continuing slowly to his thighs,
and the drapery that flows over them.

No longer two dimensional,
he develops with the smooth form of his gluteus,
arms folded in front of his brawny torso,
rendering the texture of muscles,
linking the rotation of the spinal column.
His broad shoulders emerge,
the curve of his extended neckline progresses
to a blank expression as he looks away,
while his lustrous locks --dangle freely.