The Painter

Splattered from head to toe!

He's a painter,
not of canvases
but of walls
and ceilings,
doors, baseboards
and crown moldings.

Nothing like her, a painter I photographed at a museum in DC early this year!

He's covered 
head to toe
in splatters, 
splashes,
and drippings of paint,
mostly white,
dribs and drabs 
of red and black,
a smattering 
of dark green
and a bit of gold,
from the cuffs 
of his baggy
painters pants
to the sweaty collar
of his Carhart sweatshirt
to the backs 
of his callused hands.

His workboots
are worn 
and equally covered,
paint's been raining
down on them
for years.

He's a Jackson Pollack painting 
incarnate, 
shrunk down
and animated,
risen from the floor
and striding 
down the street.

Easing into his truck,
settling into another day
with his paints and brushes,
working his universal canvases.