Taking My Father and Brother to The Frick by Derrick Austin

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend December 23, 2015   Taking My Father and Brother to The Frick   Derrick Austin

Disembark the Turners seem to say, those starburst barges glowing in the dusk, but I can’t read old Rembrandt, his guarded eyes are jewels, like black men. Even the loaned, marble busts of kings and soldiers fail to arrest you. It’s nearly closing time. The elderly linger, rapt. Who has looked at either of you lately with such tenderness?                                              Entering the narrow hall, I ignore my favorite portraits, their ruffles and bodices, carnations and powder puffs, afraid to share my joy with you, yet your bearing in this space—the procession of your shoulders, the crowns of your heads— makes them sing anew.                                                You are both good men.  Walk into the Fragonard Room. You both seem bored still. It’s fine. Perhaps we can progress like these panels, slowly and without words, here—the city where I first knew men in the dark— in this gold and feminine room.            Copyright © 2015 by Derrick Austin. Used with permission of the author. About This Poem   “Wandering museums, spending hours among art, is among my favorite things to do but so often I do it alone. I imagined sharing, or attempting to share, this deeply quiet, intimate space with my father and brother. I’m usually at a loss for words when it comes to writing about my family, and this is an attempt to share something of the love and silence with them.” —Derrick Austin   Derrick Austin is the author of Trouble the Water (BOA Editions, 2016). He lives in New York City. Poetry by Austin   Trouble the Water (BOA Editions, 2016) "Bone & Silence" by Gerald Fleming "The Painting" by John Balaban "Broadway" by Mark Doty Poem-a-Day   Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-a-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends. Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit Poets.org.   You are receiving this e-mail because you elected to subscribe to our mailing list. If you would like to unsubscribe, please click here.   © Academy of American Poets 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038