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MICHALENGLO'S ETCHINGS
MICHALENGLO’S ETCHINGS
Before the stone set before him was the chiaroscuro; the
Light and dark etchings of shadow and the presentiment
Of an artist looking for an artifice of overwhelming expression.
Crosshatching and webbing brings the night into day and
So many beggars are reaching their hands out into darkness;
Dark are the deeds of men and dark is the painting of their lives.
The holy family escapes to Egypt and the donkey places its foot
Down in the darkness. Darkness holds up Herod’s conscience as
The innocent Christ cannot be found where such a light is hidden.
The light in Michalenglo’s eye had to cut through the darkness in
The stone where David lay hidden; and in the David inside the stone
Lay the murderous heart of a giant slayer and mighty king.
The eye of Michalenglo saw the finger of god in the round basilica;
The finger pointed to a world in darkness as if to accuse it of never
Understaning the light. This can be seen in Mary’s eyes holding her son.
It is more than a teaspoon of darkness that Michalenglo uses in his
Etching; for this he waits until midnight as he hangs upside down
Facing the rotunda dome with a candle on his head. What shadows?
Ducks are swimming in and out of the marshy reeds and geese are
All seeking similar darkening. The hunter aims at the sunlit sky as
If to use the light for all of his plundering. Michalenglo can etch this.
