Still Life

Painting by J.L. Fleckenstein


Still Life


Of dried, cracked oil on canvas,
it hangs on a white wall, illumed
by the slanted beam of an early
afternoon spotlight-sun of track
lighting: a white table covered
with a white, cotton tablecloth;
a white porcelain plate; a knife
and fork of sterling silver;
and a fresh, ripe apricot
placed off-center on the plate.
Only the sheen of the plate
and its shadow distinguish it
from the tablecloth. The knife
and fork, lying equidistant
from the plate, draw the viewer’s eye
to blade and tines, auguring
imminent violence. For the moment
intact, the peel of the apricot,
taut with the pressure of flesh,
pulses with the heat of pinkish yellow,
braced for the inevitable ravage
just beyond the canvas edge
of manicured, human hands.


Larry D. Thomas

Posted over on Larry D. Thomas Blog Site