Unpatriotic Art

(DeKooning Portrait of Kennedy, Truman Library)

I wonder at the daring
of her stroke,
yellow and green
in the face of a president,
hands with a haze of fingers,
a grey body in a green suit.

As art it pleased me,
the laity of that priestly school,
and my layman’s eye
reposed on his turquoise nose
and rose to a puff of cantaloupe hair
cast carelessly across his head.
Others would have made him
stiff and official instead.

But Kennedy was a casual man,
windblown, dapple colored,
burned in sun, his colors run
with outdoor green
and prematurely grey with death.

It’s understanding
that makes the painting,
not the norm.
Patriotism does not command
a grey pose
for a green man.
And image outlasts form.

Image Citation
DeKooning, Elaine. Portrait of President John F. Kennedy. 1962. Oil on canvas. Harry S. Truman Library and Museum, Independence, MO. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. .