Ekphrastic Mondays Poem #3

Welcome to another Ekphrastic Monday! Please click on the link to the painting, "Lady at the Tea Table," by Lilla Cabot Perry, to get a better view.

Click on the image to enlarge. Poem © Diane Mayr, all rights reserved. Painting by Lilla Cabot Perry (circa 1905), courtesy The Athenaeum. Poster for The Sandow Trocadero Vaudevilles (1894), courtesy Library of Congress.

In the days of traveling circuses, I imagine many people harbored dreams of running away to join the circus! Here is the poem in case you are unable to read it:

Lady at the Tea Table

Between social responsibilities
I train my dog.
Little tricks lead to astounding performances.

We also practice daily at four.

When my plate of shortbread
is empty, my little dog
is further rewarded with kisses.

At five we resume our normal activities.

One day soon I will
take a bow with aplomb,
just as my canine companion does.

We will wait until 7:59, then walk out the door.