first art lesson

呀…不多不少有點緊張，因為明天要英詩比賽了!
心情有點複雜，看來要用用一次白魔法了。
給你們看看我的英詩吧!

first art lesson by james kirkup

My new paintbox's shining black lacquer lid
divided neatly into three oblong sections
reflects my funny face, the art room windows
white with autumn clouds and flecked with rain.

When I open it, the scented white enamel dazzles.
Inside, pure colours are displayed like blocks
of a bulb-grower's beds of flowers, toy spectrum
in china tubs and tin tubes, a cubist rainbow.

From my jam jar filled with fresh water at the sink
I pour a little liquid into each depression;
take the brush of silky camel hair; wet it plumpness
for the first time, and the last, between my lips.

Then dip its fine, dark tip into the water tanks,
and into the juicy wells of Crimson Lake, Gamboge, Sienna,
Peacock Blue, Burnt Ochre, Emerald, Olive, Terracotta,
Vermilion, Umber, Cadmium, Indigo, Intense Black.

Damp the paper. From the top edge, with sleek, loaded brush,
begin to release the first phantom of a pale-blue wash.