Martin Willitts Jr’s poem The Man With Wheels in His Head appeared here in September 2012.

Van Gogh’s Ear
(based on the painting Self Portrait, by Van Gogh, 1889)
By Martin Willitts Jr

*

There are two conflicting stories as to how Van Gogh lost his ear.
The famous one is he cut it off and gave it to a prostitute.
The question is always, what was he thinking?

The second story has Gauguin having an argument
and cutting Van Gogh with a sword. The question is always:
what was Gauguin doing with a sword?

What if his ear had heard enough and removed itself from discussion.

*

It was not a pillow. It was not a sailboat untied from a pier.
It was not a train carrying paintings to Paris to never be sold.
It was not a swan or a ballerina in Swan Lake.

It looked like a sunflower, opening up like a clamshell.

*

How long changing bandages before blood turns brown?
How can you wear glasses? The cloud formations are ears.

Gauguin thought he could stop hearing the screams,
but the sounds followed him to deserted islands,
disguised as topless native girls carrying coconut shells
like conch shells. There was no escaping
what did not exist and lamented in his head, like stars exploding.