Fate of the Animals, by Sharon Tracey

Fate of the Animals, by Franz Marc (Germany) 1913

 Fate of the Animals

On the back of the painting he wrote: 
And all being is flaming suffering.
First titled it: the trees show their rings, the animals their veins.

Before his friend Paul Klee suggested the new name. 
Before Franz Marc fought and died in the Battle of Verdun.
Before the painting placed in storage caught its own fire. 

Before Klee restored the damaged right side but not the colour.
Before it was confiscated by the Nazis. 
Before it was auctioned to a museum in Basel.

How it speaks to our time—the animals and earth 
cut in chaotic fire—a glimpse of green horse, mauve boars,
blue deer. Caught red-handed in flame, a flicker of chance.

Sharon Tracey

Sharon Tracey is the author of three books of poetry: Land Marks (Shanti Arts 2022), Chroma: Five Centuries of Women Artists (Shanti Arts 2020), and What I Remember Most is Everything (All Caps Publishing). Her poems have appeared in Crab Creek Review, Terrain.org, Radar Poetry, and elsewhere. Art and nature are central to her work. She lives and writes in western Massachusetts. Find her online at sharontracey.com