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.