This is where he always almost is,
which makes an idea of it,
as unobtainable as it is close,
like holding in two hooves
the shaking water
of a passing motor’s wake.
Some things he just can’t do.
Like any neutral thing that taunts,
he sees it everywhere,
in all his former
partners and relations;
in the stillness,
then the different stillness
he wants to lunge in after.
Brooke Vertin, Fair Friends (intaglio with hand coloring on kitakata paper)
Artist's Commentary:
There is a lurking presence in Charlie's poem, a creature in silence, watching. His language reminds me of this image because here is this creature "as unobtainable as it is close." I also make a connection between the title Fair Friends and the line "he sees it everywhere/ in all his former/ partners and relations," as I think about the relationships, past and present, that one watches and approaches with care and caution.