Vadim, Who Painted My Portrait

An artist and friend

For Vadim,
who painted my portrait
and changed me,
saw what was beautiful
in what I tried to hide,
coaxed the blank canvas
of my heart
to beat out loud.

His brushes caught fire
with color and light,
deep wells of eyes,
heart a mile wide,
did not go gently
into that good night
but blazed as he lived
and so as he died.