Modified Magritte

By Marne Kilates

As if he could still be modified
When in his fictive mind he could
Modify himself endlessly: Well, his
Bowler hat, for one, could be anything
From Pandora’s Box to a stray
Smoking pipe floating in midair
(Chased by the bowler hat), or the fiery
Sunset of a post-thermonuclear
Apocalypse, which is both inside and
Outside him, in his burning lungs,
And beyond the horizon, igniting tree lines
And devastating cities, the dust devils
Hovering among ruins of houses.
It could be anything. It could be a white
Rose left on a parapet, and beyond,
An infinity of red apartment windows,
Or again, two men in their overcoats,
In bowler hats (Magritte & Magritte?)
Blown by the wind into the clouds.
(And in my mind, I hear the sky
Sprinkling its loose change of andantes
And adagios of horns, clarinets, oboes…)
So, did he sign this frame of Magritte?
Oh, Magritte upon Magritte!! His all
Permeable art looking at himself,
Before and behind his mirror, now
And the next moment: Echoes upon
Echoes upon echoes…

12 July 2023