A Wall of Portraits (Out of Love, for Kimberly)
©2013 by Christopher Oie Keller
He understood it to be an odd,
even ridiculous occupation:
out of love, titled every painting
lower-case because she wasn’t God,
though her proportions were
oil and canvas
perfection. He
lined a whole wall,
placed portraits spiraling inward
with each altered addition.
out of love, smiling.
out of love, skeptical.
One thing, her left ear
never dried right,
so laughing had earmuffs and snow,
confused a stalking cap on a sunny day,
profile a ponytail – He
loved getting off scot-free
on that one. Soon the wall closed
in on itself while she cried or sneezed
or drank from the fountain at the dance hall.
After one night, out of love, in love
fell together like fall farm tools –
even the ear worked.
out of love, in love was too big
for the remaining wall space. He
left it in another room,
started painting still life,
out of love.