Evensong
4” x 6” opened case
1995
oil on panel, velvet, brass, wood
This painting represents an interracial couple who, as angelic spirits, have been resurrected and ascended into heaven upon death. It was another work enclosed inside “A Folly.” I wrote a poem about this work, which follows. “A rainbow phantasm, / Immanent, resplendent, / Mounts the sky’s chasm. / Two men misunderstood, / In an age of misunderstanding, / Have ascended to the heavens. // Their embrace erases / Shoulders and arms; / Black night and white star faces. / Holy men, misunderstood / In an age of misunderstanding, / Have ascended to the heavens. // In ambient awareness, one to the other, / Two have left us. / In life, they loved one another / Wholly. Men misunderstood, / In an age of misunderstanding, / Have ascended to the heavens. // In their wake, our breath strains / With resounding farewells. / Their memory reigns. / Holy of Holies, two men, misunderstood / In an age of misunderstanding, / Have ascended to the heavens.”