To the Stealers of Rembrandts

Come on. Not that you admired

the fine strokes of his brushes,

the thickness of his lines and old paints,

or the subtleness of his curves

all under the control of his disciplined pulse.

Come on. Not that you fathomed

the different portraits that he journalled,

the landscapes he captured,

or the mundane events made extraordinary by him

all many events and centuries ago.

Come on. Not that you related well

in the darkness casted with light,

in the plainliness made special,

or in the expression of a fearful or watchful eyes

in every framed work of art.

Come on. You should understand

that stealing his work not simply a crime against property,

but a heavy crime against all of us:

stealing his work seals my chance to see it;

You owe that too to your future grandkins.

Come on. You should know by now:

a stolen Rembrandts has no ready clean buyers,

and everyone wants it back, even the insurance company.

You just can't make it sit in a barn for years and lose its luster,

a stolen Rembrandts is no good; a mere money in an oasis.

Foot and Fire