Kristian Schreiner, Lying Down

Meant to be printed on white, cream or beige
wove paper in yellow or brown or green-
black ink, the woodcut of "Kristian Schreiner,
Standing" shows far more in its unvarnished
state. A hunched man, walled, stands in silhouette,
slumps his head--resigned to the nearing scarved,
cloaked wraith. Like the woodblock, the man was carved
from oak. His limbs, trunk form an oubliette
of him today. When this woodcut is garnished
with a quarter turn it reveals some finer
points. On his back, the man's feet, legs, arms, seen
shrouded, have been dimmed by his neurophage.
All that remains of his glow is his head
and it rises to scream at the coming dead.

by John Thomas Clark