Modern face of a katydid

A caryatid (Greek: Καρυάτις)
was a sculpted female figure
used in architecture;
a katydid is a cricket 

When I was pointed out^* to the new white lady
by the old, a Judas look passed between them
that I didn't register then. I was distracted—maybe

I could come to think her comely, she was tall and slim,

the bridge of her nose had something in it Greek,
and her buggy eyes—didn't Socrates also stare?
But soon I came to see that no lamplight peeked

from inside out, nothing gleamed, no brilliance flared,

no love radiated from her unsmiling mouth;
no light, no nurture, no glistening from that face.
An agenda had been given her, her project set.

Rilke himself could not have seen a glow within
her eyes—so dull and blank. There was no place
that really saw me. My choice to retire was a given.
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* January 17, 2012, in the Board Room
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