Belle Haleine: Eau de Voilette

Drain the bottle to drink her scent

named in a play of florals

Where different bodies dance in distance

in rose glass haze

Take the picture of we as mirror

when us slips the veil between essence

where mist learns your blood to linger

Wear this gaze               this mirage

It will

become you

In response to Man Ray's 'Belle Haleine: Eau de Voilette (Beautiful Breath: Veil Water)' 1921, purchased upon the occasion of the 100th birthday of Marcel Duchamp in 1987.

See the artwork that inspired this poem in the flesh, along with more than 100 of Marcel Duchamp’s world-renowned pieces, in ‘The Essential Duchamp’ exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, 27 April – 11 August 2019.