Palimpsest 4
Portrait of Janna
When Otto had finished his portrait of Andy
he put his pen to his lips and murmured
Hmm… what will I do now?
Half sitting on my lap
he looked at me and said
Want me to draw you?
I nodded, Yes.
He pointed to the chair
where Andy had been sitting
and said, Sit over there.
He set me in a pose
one hand on a hip
the other leaning on the table.
Like this, he said
showing me how.
Then drew me
in a standing pose and asked
is it okay to put you in an Essendon jumper?
(That’s the team I barrack for
His team is St Kilda).
As he started to add more objects
he hesitated
and asked
Do you want me to draw you here?
(at his house)
or at your house?
Before I could answer
he decided
to put me in my house.
In the big room.
Dining table and chairs
a rug on the floor
a sideboard with
a bowl of round
wooden balls
and a jar of
pens and pencils
a lamp with
a plugged in cord
Fraser’s high chair
two shaggy dogs
one black
called Callan
one white
that’s Danny
a cat called Norah
a light overhead
a rocking chair
two couches with
people
a window
with a puppet doll
hanging from the latch
a vine outside
an overhead light.
And a palimpsest
of an upside down
faded cat
showing through
from the back.
Palimpsest 5
A bird
The dots
surrounding the bird are
from an earlier drawing
on another piece of paper.
They have bled through
onto this drawing.
palimpsest
ˈpalɪm(p)sɛst/
noun
– a manuscript or piece of writing material on which later writing has been superimposed on effaced earlier writing.
– something reused or altered but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form.