Self Portrait Eleven Weeks After Laura Died

Acrylic on canvas

24" x 20", 2005

Immediately after Laura died, I felt like had a terrible hangover. I had a horrible headache. I felt as though I had been kicked in the stomach by a horse. This lasted about two weeks. I actually thought for a while that sustaining a real physical beating might be the only thing that could make me feel better.

By the eleventh week I was starting to feel better, but I knew I’d never be the same.

        

Who Am I?

I am a bear eating a blueberry
I am an old man, so sad, so scary
I am a cat with no kittens
I am a hat with no mittens
I haven’t got a pot to piss in
They tell me things will be OK
I miss my wife and yesterday

Ed Rath , 22 Feruary 2005