O-I-L Paint
(for Albert Ryder)

Submerged in the murk of modern life
   Immersed in the murk of oil
The great mark-maker breathes forth clarity
   A clarity of images and emo-
tions born into paint
   A clarity of light and human
compassion
   A clarity of poignant concen-
tration and compression
   A murk clarity transcended
into living tissue.
The First Father, the sea, the rock, the seed,
The Witch Doctor to cure the ills of us all.