Winter Work by Elana Wolff

November 6, 2023
Poem title: Winter Work Poet name: Elana Wolff Poem: The canvas where the easel stands extends beyond the art. Tumid puce, dark curdled blue. A dirty family shambles gessoed / white— on ache that grew too furious, I paint it to allay— against the dig of cynics; name it for a phrase in Kafka’s winter work, Das Schloss. (One doesn’t need a gloss.) Snows have been alighting through the night. Creatures—squirrels, rabbits, mice— little figures, subtle in the hush. These animals, their shadows—how it happens can’t be tapped— go white to empathize, ceding me the clemency of quiet. I am most moved by figures that don’t whimper when they shift. End of poem. Credits and bio: Copyright © Elana Wolff Previously published in The Nashwaak Review, Fall 2023. Elana Wolff’s writing has recently appeared (or will soon appear) in Arc, Best Canadian Poetry 2024, CV2, FreeFall, Galaxy Brain, Montréal Serai, The Nashwaak Review, Pinhole Poetry, Prairie Fire, and Vallum. Her collection, Swoon, received the 2020 Canadian Jewish Literary Award for Poetry. Her cross-genre Kafka-quest work, Faithfully Seeking Franz, is forthcoming from Guernica Editions.