THE
DAY LABORER
Fraying
at the brim,
A
hat with holes
Darkens
his face,
Folded
and lined.
Beneath
long sleeves,
Torn
and shabby,
A
dirty cotton layer
Shields
his arms,
Dusky
branches, wizened.
Swinging
a pickaxe,
He
hacks the ground,
Digging
out dirt and rocks
To
pay the debts
Of
an elephant,
Animal
he resembles
As
it clambers out of water,
Dripping,
shiny, wrinkled.
Filmy,
perspiring,
Resting
on the long handle
End
of his standing tool,
He
is almost motionless,
Inert
gob of smoldering
Lava
in deep time,
Blackened,
steaming.
He
sighs, heaving for
Ages
and ages to come.
Untying
his kerchief,
He
mops his brow,
Tilts
his head upward,
Blinks,
fluttering eyelids,
Tremulous
insects…
Sees
nothing
But
the sun.
Originally
published in Turk’s Head Review
(December 29, 2014)
 |
| In Peaceful Fields (1950) by Andrei Milnikov |
SOCIALIST REALISM
ReplyDeleteSocialist Realism was also the officially sponsored Marxist aesthetic in the visual arts, which fulfilled the same propagandistic and ideological functions as did literature. Socialist Realist paintings and sculptures used naturalistic idealization to portray workers and farmers as dauntless, purposeful, well-muscled, and youthful. Socialist Realism remained the official aesthetic of the Soviet Union (and of its eastern European satellites) until the late 20th century, at which time the changes in Soviet society initiated by the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev led to abandonment of the aesthetic.
Link: https://www.britannica.com/art/Socialist-Realism
Gonzalinho
Images of works of art are posted on this website according to principles of fair use, specifically, they are posted for the purposes of information, education, and especially, contemplation.
ReplyDeleteThe purpose of this blog is, among others, to advance knowledge and to create culture, for public benefit.
Gonzalinho