Ekphrasis on “Last Movement 1996” painted by Samuel Bak

No Kaddish rises from this washed-out beige and olive-painted
square. The Holocaust is cobbled from the shabby coats,
cloaks, scalloped heaps of cloth, and vacant pages strewn
about the feet of these three listless players with their instruments,
squatting on a heap of cast-off lumber.

Bled out, they cling tightly to their faulty instruments,
crude bows of unseasoned wood, a cello with an open
empty belly. One man wears a gas mask linked by lengthy
tubing to the ground—why does he breathe the dirt so soon?

Off-center in the rear, a deathly pallid head protrudes
directly through a marble platform, as if he’s burrowed
upwards from his tomb.

Each of the four, the dead included, has pointed wing-like structures
spreading out behind like sails strong enough to meet with heaven.

This silent taking leave of life—a prayer and/or last encore.