circle of Giovanni Bellini circa 1505 oil on wood, is what
he fits between his third and fourth weekly pill boxes,
to remind himself to reorder. His routine about the anti-
virals is of greater magnitude, maybe, than the one in which

Mrs. Gardner used to place a vase of violets in front
of the painting, when she owned it. This card's only

a reproduction of the Passion, not the original. But we've seen
how imitation and daily use can make of pity and fear

an almost cozy utensil. The Savior's torso is pointed
toward the royal climb, but his unreadable eye turns out,

loosing on you, passerby, a tear of blood and milk.


About this poem
"The man in the poem might have chosen any postcard as an aide-memoire-that he chose this postcard, for this purpose, is a poem."
-Patrick Donnelly

About Patrick Donnelly
Patrick Donnelly is the author of "Nocturnes of the Brothel of Ruin" (Four Way Books, 2012). He directs The Frost Place Poetry Seminar and lives in South Deerfield, Mass.

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The Academy of American Poets is a nonprofit, mission-driven organization, whose aim is to make poetry available to a wider audience. Email The Academy at poem-a-day[at]poets.org.


(c) 2015 Patrick Donnelly. Originally published by the Academy of American Poets, www.poets.org. Distributed by King Features Syndicate