Judith and Holofernes

^{oil on linen, 120” x 90” by Kehinde Wiley, 2012}

in the frame stood all that could be done.
a dash of blood on a long and ready blade.
a justice this particular day made late. one
head without a body, hanging from the other
body. a sign to be read, not spoken. a wish
to be wished and not had. the problem is
it’s already done and up on the wall and
although it is there, happened and recorded
its broken chronology won’t be mentioned.

I am stuck in the contrast of garden and
grave. all bloom all wither all pattern and its
sore disruption. every aunt I have known
nails set to a dazzle wears the sweet remix
of Judith. blushed to balance out the gore.
the chain-linked wallpaper stares back at
what seemed to be the only feeling left.
a lie stuffed under our beds for our good.
who’s the poor tyrant in our own Bethulia?
who’s lured us into this hunting, spooked
us into such a calamitous marriage?
 

Poems for Summer Solstice

Opportunities for Poets
 

• The Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing is offering full and partial teaching fellowships for writers to teach at the Desert Nights, Rising Stars Writers Conference. The deadline to apply is July 15, 2020. 
   
• The Asian American Writers’ Workshop in New York City is seeking a Programs Manager and Digital Communications Manager. 
   
• Electric Lit is seeking a part-time Assistant Editor for its literary magazines Recommended Reading and The Commuter. The deadline to apply is Sunday, June 28.
   
• The Poetry Coalition is pleased to launch a new fellowship program with inaugural host organizations CantoMundo, CaveCanem, Kundiman, Mizna, and Split This Rock. Applications for the 2020 Poetry Coalition Fellowship program are being accepted from May 22, 2020 through July 15, 2020.

Last Week’s Poem-a-Day