Each morning

After The Composition by Lee Krasner (USA) 1949

by Barbara Krasner (Somerset, NJ)

Each morning I study remaining pemphigus

lesions, each a disk of genetic memory

on a roadmap. I scrape

at their composition, want the navigation

to be smooth and not parched haystacks

of eastern European DNA neglected 

by formerly fertile river beds. Those crusty

white outlines, old sienna or newer red

perfect cul de sacs, pushing themselves

against each other on shtetl streets,

saying Shalom Aleichem and expecting

Aleichem Shalom in return. Each one

different, each one the same.

Barbara Krasner has been grappling with a rare and incurable autoimmune skin disease that is known to afflict descendants of eastern European Jews. She found solace in the artwork of Lee Krasner. Barbara’s first ekphrastic poetry collection is forthcoming from Kelsay Books.

Editor’s note: To view The Composition by Lee Krasner, visit: https://www.artsy.net/artwork/lee-krasner-composition