The Reader
Howard Altmann, American born Canada
from Infinite Sky Divided (forthcoming 2026)
The book sat on the table
for years
before it opened to a page
exposed to light
for the first time.
IPAD art created by David Hockney, British born 1937, before 2018. On display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY in 2017/18
In their new surroundings
the words trembled
Add, 1965, oil on canvas
Sarah Grilo, 1919-2007, Argentine. MOMA, NY
shaking all meaning
from their assembly,
the reader unable to enter
as above
Then the ink began to run
past the margins
Tearing Layers of Language, 2018, oil and pen on panel
Katherine Volpe, American born 1994. Courtesy of the artist at the 78th juried show at the Woodmere in 2019
to the mahogany to the floor,
Ground Rules. Free Throw, 2015, wooden flooring.
Theaster Gates, American born 1973. Smithsonian American Museum, Washington, DC
random drops collecting themselves,
expanding from within.
The reader saw fit to stand
by the window,
following a cloud
till it stalled in front of the sun,
sweeping its passage along eyes closed.
Red Sunset over the Dnieper, 1905-98, oil on canvas
Arkhyp Kuindzhi, Ukrainian, born Russian Empire, Mariupol 1841, died 1910 St. Petersburg. Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
As the sky proceeded
to draw the ink from the floor,
affixing the once-quivering words
Digging, 2017-2018, oil and pen on canvas.
Katherine Volpe, American, DOB? Exhibited in 2018 at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia
to the slow-moving cloud,
as above
the reader read the page in the dark.
And when the day’s shadows turned in
for the night
A Walk At Dusk, oil on canvas, c. 1830-35.
Caspar David Friedrich, 1774-1840, German. The J. Paul Getty Museum loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY in 2025
The figure, thought to be the artist, is in a pose of mourning or reverence.
the book closed as it had opened
without a hand,
the reader calling it a day
of prayer.
<3
Scrolling down, pondering the words and images began to feel like an incantation.
A day of prayer indeed. Powerfully wrought, Sarah.
Thank you, Tish. It seems that some of us have come to many and daily prayers evoked by many of the ‘ordinary’ things and aspects of our lives!