Elisabeth Macke, by Colin Pink

Portrait with Apples (Portait of the Artist's Wife), by August Macke (Germany) 1909

Elisabeth Macke 
​
She comes from the dark bearing 
gifts from behind a heavy curtain
whose soft folds echo her smile.

Red and russet apples balance
on a white plate held before her:
an offering to the God of still life.

Broad hands give us confidence
that nothing will slip from this
delicate yet perfect arrangement.

Her white shawl caresses her with light 
bright as herself. Her eyes and lips 
make three perfect almonds bracketed

by the calligraphy of her eyebrows 
and chin. She looks down to her left
confident in the fruition of all things.

Moontide full she knows the touch 
of brush, the smell of paint, the crunch
of apple, the repose of hidden seeds.

Colin Pink

​Colin Pink has two collections of poetry: Acrobats of Sound and The Ventriloquist Dummy’s Lament. New poems are forthcoming in South Bank Poetry, Magma and Under the Radar magazines.