Self Portrait in Shadow, by Madeleine Quirk

Mary Magdalene as Melancholy, by Artemisia Gentileschi (Italy) 1622-25

Self Portrait in Shadow

The stroke of a shadow 
engulfs the crevices
of her body;
 
that they are hidden only
enhances their magnetism.
 
The eyelid is swollen with salt,
the eye a vertical 
slant of blackness.
 
This is thought to be
the artist’s self-portrait.
 
The right hand is limp
under her cheek,
a useless comfort also
tired of grasping. 
 
Her whole self is sunken
and bloated,
as if moored on the bed
of a tenebrous ocean.
 
There is no delirium
that persists in this setting,
no silent fumbling
for forgivness. 
 
Instead,
a chiaroscuro curtain
like a slow stream welling 
to the surface,
 
a figure draped 
in dull gold
 
with a pearl forgotten
against her neck
in favour of darker objects.

Madeleine Quirk

Madeleine Quirk is an undergraduate student at Queen's University. She lives in Kingston, Ontario.