Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Burning bush


Artist, dressed in a shroud,
shoes removed, carries
a burning bush; illuminates
a forest consumed by flame,
the hiding places and denials
of dark woods exposed. And so
becomes a narrator,
a storyteller, a light bearer,
a commandment carrier;
opens eyes but first
his own. Cannot look full
into the face. Only a partial view
from the back allowed.
or else death. The ground hot,
holy.


Illustration: Man the Forest by Anselm Kiefer (1971), private collection, San Francisco. This was one of the paintings included in the Anselm Kiefer exhibition at the Royal Academy of Art in London this past fall.

1 comment:

Maureen said...

So interesting to see this early Kiefer image, which I think is beautiful. Great for this ekphrastic poem.