he looks worn, distant,

so close to the fire’s heat

but not yet burning

 

this is how creation works,

magic made to seem easy

when so very difficult,

the door closed and locked

 

seconds or hours,

finally it yields to him,

the treasure so bright

as he lays it out neatly,

each note perfectly in place

(after the 1891 portrait of Erik Satie in his Montmartre studio, by Santiago Rusinol)