PORTRAIT IN CORAL AND OCHER/ woman contaminated
by Ave Jeanne Ventresca

with long strokes of
coral and ocher,
silence was painted away
and replaced with infection
to layers thin
within some anonymous host
found in the mirror’s uneasy reflections
what once was unnoticeable
now assumed a clap, a tick, a gnaw-
like stiff hands from ten mighty clocks
wooden and parched.
all of them in unison,
movements escalating to thunderous
precise, sharp tones
the origins of this infection
did not concern me. but the intentions
grew like some strangling summons
that would not alter
to constant pleads and commands
that found way from my lips,
parched and inaudible
my genetic code
found no pathways to offer relief,
no answer to the questioning
no way to position my throbbing limbs
that brought any color of rest
viruses multiplied
like some uneducated woman
who refused to open her eyes
upon a weathered book,
who defied to scrutinize the lessons
read in a dimly lit room
and still it continued to spread
to ignite phrases, caustic and burnt,
spit out profanities,
rekindle chapters of acute pain
throughout layers of skin tired,
and bone that would no longer bend
until at last
the infection, this dismaying beast
made known its name to be,
merely
the passing of time
and i gave myself to it
with one
Breath
—-
Ave Jeanne Ventresca is the author of nine chapbooks of poetry that reflect social and environmental concerns. Her most recent collection, Noticing The Colors of Ordinary, was released in the summer of 2019. She edited the acclaimed literary magazine Black Bear Review, and served as publisher of Black Bear Publications for twenty years. Her award winning poetry (contemporary and Asian) has been widely published internationally within commercial and literary magazines, in print and online. Ave Jeanne was nominated for the Pushcart Prize for 2019.
About the image: “Crone with Globe” by Howard Skrill. Numerous works from this series have been included in major group exhibitions in New Jersey, New York City and Virginia in 2019 and will be the subject of a museum one person show in Connecticut in 2020. Howard Skrill is an artist/educator and lives with his wife. They are longtime residents of Brooklyn, NY.