Standing in awe
Before the naked,
Silent figures we wonder what
The ancient artists possessed
That clothed these statues in
This transfixing transcendent
Light which slowly diffused it-
Self to posterity,
And yet how it is we
Ended up straightaway
Blind, deaf, and yes—
Dare we utter it?—so
Stupendously,
Spellbindingly
Dumb.