Like a portrait,
formed through increments of
shadow and light,
Noll's shades vary.
---
Were he human,
Noll would often find himself in "time out,"
for being garrulous and pouty.
----
Then, given a hug for being
As charming as a suitor,
As comical as a clown,
As sensitive as a poet,
As daring as a skydiver.
----
He is a complicated cat.
----
Though it seems illogical,
Noll's shades blend together perfectly
like the shading strokes of an artist.
----
Taken as a whole, Noll is a masterpiece.
----
"Portrait of a Woman," a pencil drawing by C. N. Hillman, 1999
