by Charlotte Martin
How could you expect
That your gaze would be displayed?
Your burial
Displaced
What are the origins
Of the lines on your face?
Are they laughter, stress, and passion,
Or are they just cracked paint?
A stranger no one knows today
You’re just a piece of slate
A single first impression
Is now your only name
“Portrait of a thin-faced man”
A.D. 140-170
A burial portrait of an unknown man currently on display at the Met Gallery
Ekphrastic poetry is a genre in which the author writes their poem about another piece of art, such as a painting. In this case, I was inspired by a burial portrait found on the Met Gallery website. Portraits of this style were typically attached to the deceased person's body, covering their face for burial (Fayum mummy portraits, c.50 BCE - 250 CE).
Charlotte Martin is a junior at New Mexico State University, hailing from Aztec, NM. She is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in Psychology with minors in English and Spanish. She enjoys music, literature, and art, and is passionate about mental health and sexual assault advocacy.
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