On Seeing Marianne von Werefkin’s Windblown, by Ronnie Hess

Windblown, by Marianne Werefkin (Russia) 1910.

On Seeing Marianne von Werefkin’s Windblown

To be able to draw
the blue curve at the hip,
the strength of the arm
holding the washing,
the tension of the sheets
in the wind, the whip
of the line. The women
are taking in the laundry,
struggling before the incipient storm,
rain falling on purple hills,
the pitchfork tree.
Such a distance to cover
across the wide grass,
the red barn so far away.

When you shot yourself
in your right hand
was it really an accident?
You could paint
with four fingers better
than any man.
One appropriated your ideas,
another flaunted his women.
Why were you faithful?
What good did it do you?
In an exhibit devoted
to Kandinsky, you are given
such a small room.

​Ronnie Hess

Ronnie Hess is a journalist and poet who lives in Madison, WI. She is the author of five poetry chapbooks (the most recent, Canoeing a River with No Name) and two award-winning culinary travel guides (Eat Smart in France, Eat Smart in Portugal). ronniehess.com