Howard Firkin
(Nothing has its place)
My life is governed by two axes: Ex
and Why. I plot the exes to explore
the whys, revealing graphically there’s more
to choice than temperament and chance and sex:
the fundamental need to make a mess.
Set up the pins to knock them down. Deface
the walls. Turn up the amp; distort the sound.
First build, then raze the temple to the ground.
The de/con struction: nothing has its place
and joy dissolves in puddles of distress.
My watercolours mix and turn to brown,
some dark, some light, but all a shade of murk.
Unmeaning viewed from left, right, upside down,
these dirty smears. That’s all. A whole life’s work.
and Why. I plot the exes to explore
the whys, revealing graphically there’s more
to choice than temperament and chance and sex:
the fundamental need to make a mess.
Set up the pins to knock them down. Deface
the walls. Turn up the amp; distort the sound.
First build, then raze the temple to the ground.
The de/con struction: nothing has its place
and joy dissolves in puddles of distress.
My watercolours mix and turn to brown,
some dark, some light, but all a shade of murk.
Unmeaning viewed from left, right, upside down,
these dirty smears. That’s all. A whole life’s work.
