Degas according to R.S. Thomas

[brttvns.livejournal.com]

Degas
The Dancing Class
by R.S. Thomas

Pretending he keeps
an aviary; looking no higher
than their feet; listening
for their precise fluttering,

And they surround him, flightless
birds in taffeta
plumage, picking up words
gratefully, as though they were crumbs.