Frank Auerbach. The Charcoal Heads

through whispered suggestions
fleeting likeness in the distance
doors open to lost memories
and small corners of the world
darkness filled with dark light
meditation as exploration

if we look we will find something

textured faces patched-up faces
worn out faces erased textured faces
faces look left faces look faces look
presence of faces presence of traces
new body of faces impressions of faces
edge and space and shadow and light

if we look we will find something

drawing on abandoned drawings
drawing erased and textured faces
glimpses of archived shadows
torn apart faces smudged faces
faces rubbed torn away torn apart
black and white black and white

if we look we will find something

everyday faces in torn away light
faces erased faces textured faces
faces  faces  faces  faces  faces
evocative shadow glimpses
worn out abstract ambiguities
balance and boundaries smudged

if we look we will find something

glimpses of reality focus away
balance of shadow drawn lines
trace of shadow edge between
silhouetted forms gestural marks
language of instant unreality
shadows drawn on a white wall

if we look we will find something

abandoned drawings barely there
smudged faces black his haunting
information as light and shadow
brevity fixed and time scattered
fleeting likeness look at memory
mark-making against our lives

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© Rupert M Loydell

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