Conceit

February 1, 2001

Alfred Wolfsohn will tell her that “art is bound up

with self love.”

But they haven’t met yet.

In 1936

Berlin

institutes of higher learning are all but closed to Jews

and Lotte is a Jew.

Furthermore, she’s thought to have no great

artistic gift.

Ironic then she should have thought:

“Perhaps I could learn to draw,

that might be the thing.

Perhaps

I could learn to draw,

I’d really have a fling.”

Maybe not ironic,

maybe harmonic; maybe not harmonic,

maybe just bad verse.