POLITICAL Poem: The Art of the Possible, by Vijay Ramanathan

On Kehinde Wiley’s Portrait of Barack Obama

The waves of gray hair, forehead shines
over creased brows. Flowers emerge
from green tableau: from chicago,
from Hawaii, from Kenya.

The leaves wrap around the feet
ensnaring
the subject. Greenery yields
no space topiary invades
all visibility, dominant— yet not aggressive.

He sits aloof from the viewer, focused
gaze follows our movements. Listen
to the rustling leaves, telling stories. He’s tense
from holding our attention.

His hair isn’t of a young man. He’s aged.
How tension shows up in bodies.
Hands hug knees, He leans
forward. loosey crossing arms.

There’s no tie, collar left open, free
of such encumbrance.
Regal chair demarks his status, yet
its modern, casual appearance speaks
‘We, the people’.

Isolated, in unreal surroundings
he’s trapped
in Nature, now an otherworldly
space apart from his predecessors,

A brown, skinned man, in a white herd. I see
his intensity, he is seated amongst the flowers,
in his element, a natural. His nature
flowers for all to see.

If this is true, let’s explore what else is
possible. Yes, we can dare to hope, to be
seated apart from a wilderness world
that demands we stand or be eaten.