Poetry

Robert Kramer

Portrait miniature

D.S.

The raised eyebrow,
the limp wrist,
the dangling cigarette,
the toss of the head,
the cloud of smoke
self-consciously exhaled
through the nostrils;
and his mind and moods
a repertoire of cinematic tricks –
sunlight falling through Venetian blinds
to form a gridded pattern
on the floor and bed;
a hotel room at night,
alternate between the darkness
and the glare of neon sign
flashing from the street below;
or the shadows cast
by languid tropic ceiling fan
rotating slowly
its hypnotic pattern
black on white,
and a sense of humid ennui,
threat, and encroaching jungle.

Robert Kramer is a widely published poet, playwright, critic, and translator of European literature. He is the author of August Sander (1980) and the The Art of Kasack (1968), as well as numerous articles on the history of art and literature. He is the former Director of International Studies at Manhattan College.