'Judith and Holofernes'

The second of the recent series of Images in Poetry comes from Olivia Plunket, who wrote this poem in response to the stunning 1599 painting 'Judith and Holofernes' by Caravaggio (click here for a large image):-

'Judith and Holofernes' by Olivia Plunket

Draping curtains as red as blood
The maid will encourage Judith
As she enters the realm of reality.

Holofernes’s hand clenching
The blood-stained sheets
Upon which his body lies.

His shoulder arching forward,
His muscles pulsing.
Outside the frame his legs are thrashing,
As he tries to fight his fate,
Screaming to his saviour in the heavens.