blemished
pairing: Portrait of Young Man from Rear by Tony Belobrajdic
Art today is from Tony Belobrajdic, a Sydney-based artist born in Croatia, who paints mainly figures and portraits. Many examples of his work can be found at his website, here.
in the change room
on a dare
you turned
and raised your shirt
to show us welts
pink to blackish
laddered
down and up
your back
as if proud
of the use
your father had put
to an electric
power cord
we didn’t know then
what to say
we the pale and smooth
whose unblemished skin
would one day
be too much
for you to bear
Beautifully written though very painful. The painting started a story in your poem that wasn't expected but then again, what's kept behind our backs is not always known, is it?
The poignancy of your words shames and reminds us of growing up, speechless witnesses.