Above: A painting I hate in a photo I like. — Below: Mark Strand, “Paintings”, from Chicken, Shadow, Moon & More.

The paintings of A were of rock piles
The paintings of B were influenced by A
The paintings of C were of miracles flattened
The paintings of D were of cruise ships on fire
The paintings of E captured a lost transparence
The paintings of F contained a number of frozen animals
The paintings of G seemed always larger at night
The paintings of H announced the approach of the unreachable
The paintings of I completed themselves endlessly
The paintings of J stood in relation to nothing
The paintings of K were like parties under water
The paintings of L acknowledged the power of chance
The paintings of M offered readings of sunrise and smoke
The paintings of N left nothing to the imagination
The paintings of O contained elements of emptiness
The paintings of P were of babies swimming
The paintings of Q were of nudes having lunch
The paintings of R foretold the coming of midnight
The paintings of S seemed to shrink as they were looked at
The paintings of T were conceived in unison
The paintings of U referred to the Age of Vegetables
The paintings of V concealed their humble origins
The paintings of W hastened the end of self-portraiture
The paintings of X suggested a fury of something-or-other
The paintings of Y couldn’t be looked at without music
The paintings of Z died of neglect the minute they were shown