clear blue sky and sharp clean air
coming into the crystalline structure
of splendid iron and glass
I came upon a palimpsest
saw names
that once were there
Alan, Baker, Mohamed
Nand, Saleen, Selma and Mazencarr
They built you a hundred and thirty years ago
bringing exotic floral and fauna
from the last of the colonies
in the Philippines
they don't need greenhouse
and their conqueror
their larger than life
beacons
were becoming
waning lights
For many nights
she'd prepare
cutting the names of
the drowned and disappeared
hope is darker
than the Mediterranean water
these icy letters
on the exhibition ground
melt and dissipate
when the sun goes down
thus
begins another morning
a new day
she says
the poetics of mourning
has never shown a better face
How to remember loved ones
how to survive another day
how to ride through these waters
without being
swallowed
by the tidal waves
Your magnificent structure
is tended by a pond
where ducks befriend visitors
for the crumbs
they carry along
when the generous feeder comes over
her hand creates a war
here come
the pigeons
here come
the doves
here come
the seagulls
with wailing squawking calls
 |
| Palimpsest by Colombian artist Doris Salcedo, is a site-specific project for the Palacio de Cristal (October 2017 to April 2018). The palace is used today for contemporary art exhibitions organized through the Reina Sofia Museum. |
