Who? Poem by gershon hepner

Who is the puzzled, turbaned man who gazes
into the distance from a canvas on the wall?
He’s Rembrandt, and it seems that it amazes
the artist to be taken for St. Paul.

Who is the young man with long, curly hair
whom Rembrandt to his studio has enticed?
He is a Jew whose eyes look straight, and stare
at all the people who believe he’s Christ.

Inspired by two paintings at an exhibition at the Getty Museum, “Rembrandt’s Late Religious Portraits”. The first is inspired by a painting of Rembrandt as St. Paul from the Rijksmuseum and the second is inspired by a painting of the Resurrected Christ from the Pinakothek.