At the Landing Gallery, a poem for Dorothy Simpson Krause and Merike van Zanten

The passion of leaves

coats the walls of tunnels

guarded by heavily barred windows

encaustic dims the light

of mica blessed with cloth

can one piece enliven stone?

the artist fears nothing

keeping memory alive

what human, beast, atom

will benefit from the preservation

of these gifts

by skilled art workers, unafraid

to exhibit their hearts, minds,

their suns that guide them

to take the simple, complex

eyes, brains, hands

to perform lines, coatings

tossed up like a vessel

through storm, through calm

to rescue them for duty

of smashing art

their own vision

that enlightens, teaches

or for those with closed

imaginations, an eternity

of deep, deep mystification

but today, here in Bruce’s chapel

we can stare at their souls

opening our hearts to God

Kendall Merriam lives in Rockland