wildscape. literary journal

Preservation
by Claudia Heymach

In the poster, Neighborhood Man rests serenely 
on a folding chair against the park’s backdrop. 

It’s been nearly a year since he was killed; 
already, the wet heat of summer slicks the grass. 

Last year, the park filled with signs 
celebrating his life — 

until the scalpel of the seasons 
sliced off leaves and unpeeled posters.

By summer's end, what of Neighborhood Man 
will remain in this place?

At times, each day feels like a veil 
laid over the last:

translucent enough that the steady 
evolution of a place can be observed. 

Other times, days are more opaque than that, 
each a scene painted over the last.

Something like Van Gogh's Patch of Grass: 
a flower-studded field painted over an older work,  

the original image seemingly lost 
under streaks of green and blue. 

But now, X-rays have reconstructed 
the painting underneath: 

a swooping cap, sunken cheeks and taut mouth. 
A woman, still there, underneath it all. 

Through the flower-studded field, 
her red-rimmed eyes meet mine.

Dik, J.; Janssens, K.; Van der Snickt, G.; van der Loeff, L.; Rickers, K.; Cotte, M. Visualization of a Lost Painting by Vincent van Gogh Using Synchrotron Radiation Based X-Ray Fluorescence Elemental Mapping. Anal Chem 2008, 80 (16), 6436–6442. https://doi.org/10.1021/ac800965g.

about the author // Claudia Heymach

Claudia Heymach studies neuroscience in the MD/PhD program at the University of Pennsylvania, and she is drawn to writing that explores medicine, science, and the mind. Her work has been published in Eunoia Review.