Writing home from thick shadows by Janelle DolRayne

After five Franz Kline Paintings

(Untitled, 1953)

Dear Father,
We have finally seen the Chinese woman
and the way she lifts her cheek to the sky,
for the raven to come and kiss it.
In the city we have learned about outlines
and trapdoors and Buddha and women.
In the city there are certain kinds of dances
you dance without any instruction.

Janelle DolRayne is a poet and MFA student at The Ohio State University. She is a former poetry editor of Copper Nickel, an art and literary magazine out of University of Colorado Denver. She is originally from Boulder, CO.