Fountain

Excellent I through utility
behold the humble fixtures
The water egoism – activity working
no other utility but the plumber
Draining draw here their philosopher piping
can limit the way common of fluids
deprive you of a peace
to imagine you, infinite of installation
Writing it as is
the valve shows, the world comes in my way

In response to Marcel Duchamp's ‘Fountain’', 1950 (replica of 1914 original)

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.