John George Brown, American
Before the Bicycle-Built-For-Two Craze, There Was the Tandem Flute, 1870
Oil on canvas
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MASTERPIECE #3209
Artist info is pointed to in my comment at another blog entry.
/// Music Lesson— (what else are they learning?)
Hormones flow and emotions are churning.
In the air, their tune lingers.
The girl blows, her man fingers
the flute. Duet of mutual yearning.
/// They’ve engendered emotions acute,
in this intimate form of pursuit.
He leans close; their heads touch.
Symbolism says much:
a great moment in portraiture (flute).
/// It’s a physical courtship displaced.
They are touching, but haven’t embraced.
With his ten fingertips
and her sensuous lips,
they make music, erotic yet chaste.
/// He intends to propose to this Miss,
and this lesson ensures future bliss.
She will learn to control
breath and lips. On the whole
it’s well-known, flautists know how to kiss.
/// Doesn’t matter how much the boy begs,
she refuses to show him her legs.
As for plucking her harp,
all the strings are quite sharp.
She has used them to slice hard-boiled eggs.