Louise Bourgeois Untitled 1991, by Dana Salisbury

Louise Bourgeois Untitled 1991 
 
This is a story of spirals
inextricably linked
but not touching
 
Octopus limbs curl around
ear canals loud with silent drumming
The empty Aegean roars inside
an unmarked shell
 
Split by whim or weight
here is a cruel Etruscan
sarcophagus of spouses
by way of Henry Moore
 
These are not polychromed
lovers at ease
sharing a caress
an eternal moment
 
Purged of peripheral vision
left with a single deep empty socket
no archaic smiles flicker
across their white marble bulbs

Dana Salisbury

This poem was inspired by Untitled, by Louise Bourgeois (USA, b. France) 1991:
https://massmoca.org/event/louise-bourgeois/louise-bourgeois-untitled-1991-4/

Dana Salisbury was a visual artist for twenty years before shifting mid-career to experimental choreography. An exploration of non-visual perception led her to create Dana Salisbury and the No-See-Ums, a company dedicated to creating Unseen Dances, dances for blindfolded audiences. Her Dark Dining Projects offered sensory feasts to blindfolded guests. For the last several years, she has focused her attention on writing. Her work has appeared in Nashville Review and Months to Years. She lives in Easthampton, MA.