“Judith Beheading Holofornes”
Caravaggio, Michelangelo de Merisi da; c.1598
Artemesia Gentileschi; c. 1620

What they knew when they painted her was
history: Judith:

She gave herself away. That night.
She used her education, looks and wealth

My body meant nothing to me.
I was quiet with you. The unmade bed.

to behead a man. The war.
What they painted when they knew her was

themselves:
Artemesia’s father was an artist too –
calling art inside her – brushes, oil, rags.

You said you only liked my mouth open

And she’d been raped. Different, of course.
Victim. Not
Judith. Hair between her fingers. Teeth.

giving head.

Before her, Caravaggio knew beauty.
Chiaroscuro. Gold bracelets. Velvet.

You said I was more beautiful
without my clothes.

Judith. Breast-white light outshines
any motive. His blade holds her.

I did not take pleasure in the power.
Yours or mine.

But they didn’t know her story.
I don’t know theirs.

You tasted bitter. I bit my tongue.

Jennifer S. Flescher holds an MFA in poetry from Lesley University, and an MSJ from Northwestern University. Her poems have appeared in The Harvard Review, The New Hampshire Review, Frigid Ember and The Boston Globe, with a poem nominated for the 2006 Best New Poets anthology from Meridian Magazine. Her non-fiction publications include The Boston Globe, The Concord Journal, The Boston Tab, ACBJ, and Agni-Online, with work forthcoming in Jubilat, Perihelion and The Harvard Review.