This poem is about the contrasts within the painting "Girl with a Pearl Earring" that are suspended in a state of dynamic equilibrium. My aim in the poem was to capture the struggle between dark and light and mystery and purity. Paintings are often viewed merely by their surface, but the true meaning of the art lies beyond the canvas. I feel that people miss the objective of artists through a cursory approach to paintings, and I wrote this poem wanting to expose my interpretation of the story behind this piece through the most potent form of analysis: poetry. I formatted the poem based on a sonnet, a traditional form that has classical Italian roots, but my poem does not exactly match the rhyme scheme of the sonnet. This echoes the classical basis of Vermeer's painting but, also, his deviations from classical dogmas. Due to the dominant black background and the vivid colors of the figure, I decided to highlight this interplay of light and dark through metaphors that describe these characteristics as belligerents in a battle for sovereignty over the girl with a pearl earring.