Poem: Seven Studies for a Self-Portrait (Study #3)

Study #3
after Vincent van Gogh

God sank a mineshaft into me for a reason
I could not see in the coal-mining district.
Coal dust ate the potatoes and beer.
When a man slammed into a woman, the dust
rose in their heads and formed a cloud.
I carried away what was mine, and burned
black into blue, red into rose, yellow to gold.
I burn the stars and each becomes a galaxy.
I burn the fuse of flesh and my face bursts
into a wheel of fireworks, a vase of sunflowers.

*

Comments

Anonymous said…
This is the most resonant (so far). It catches the dark and light of the psyche...so true of Van Gogh.
3:35 AM
Jee Leong said…
Thanks. I was unsure if the van Gogh motifs were too unsurprising.
8:32 AM
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