Never Look Away
By Jennifer LeBlanc
Never Look Away
After the film from 2018
A single
purple blossom
placed with such
hope
in
the vase.
Morning work begins
for the East German
artist. He needs an idea.
What is it to paint
with memory and with
demons, shutters closing
on lives ended within
the family ? What is it
to walk away at the end
of the day, the canvas
still empty ? But smudge
the portrait here, an eye
blinks, a finger points,
indicts the man posed
in the passport photo,
propped up like an ominous
god observing the studio.
Shutters open, hinges swing.