Matthew Kohut allows readers to contemplate the contrast of darkness and light in the powerful minimalism of his poem “Rothko Chapel”. Located in Texas, the Rothko Chapel is a place of creativity, contemplation, spirituality, and activism, the interior space adorned with vast dark color fields of the renowned 20th century abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko. In Matthew’s four couplets, he guides us through the darkness and back out into the blinding sunshine, a masterclass in simplistic poetic juxtaposition.
Rothko Chapel
The sun does not rise—
darkness breaks,
the night sky pocked with pinholes
in the cloth of black space.
I exit into daylight
blinded by the blaze
of Ra’s chariot crossing
the sky at midday.
Matthew Kohut
Matthew Kohut is the author or co-author of three books of nonfiction. His poetry has appeared in Tar River Poetry, Clackamas Literary Review, and Psaltery & Lyre, among other publications. Social media: matthewkohut.com, @kohut.bsky.social, @mpkohut on Threads and Instagram, Matt Kohut on Facebook.
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