The Portrait by Stanley Kunitz
The Portrait
Stanley KunitzMy mother never forgave my father
for killing himself,
especially at such an awkward time
and in a public park,
that spring
when I was waiting to be born.
She locked his name
in her deepest cabinet
and would not let him out,
though I could hear him thumping.
When I came down from the attic
with the pastel portrait in my hand
of a long-lipped stranger
with a brave moustache
and deep brown level eyes,
she ripped it into shreds
without a single word
and slapped me hard.
In my sixty-fourth year
I can feel my cheek
still burning.
MARGINALIA
What am I doing up at this hour? It’s past four in the morning and as usual I am starved for sleep.
ABOUT STANLEY KUNITZ
On July 29, 1905, Stanley Kunitz was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. He attended Harvard College, where he received a bachelor’s degree in 1926 and a master’s degree in 1927. Kunitz published his first book of poetry, Intellectual Things (Doubleday, Doran and Company), in 1930. Fourteen years later, he published his second book, Passport to War (Henry Holt and Co.). His recent books include: The Collected Poems of Stanley Kunitz (W. W. Norton, 2000); Passing Through: The… (more)
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ENDNOTES
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