A new poem by Dunedin poet and critic David Eggleton.

Portrait of the Artist

They’ve thrown the Bauhaus under an electric bus.
They’ve torn a strip off Mondrian’s downtown bougie-woogie.
They’ve reinvented Malevich’s black square as a Rubik’s Cube.
They’ve turned Joseph Beuys into a wet blanket the size of the Beehive.
They’ve stuck glitter and metallics all over the sackcloth and ashes.
They’ve travelled on a shoestring, carrying a Barry Brickell bowl.
They’ve cancelled the Colin McCahon stamps.
They’ve woken up the Len Lye sculpture.
They’ve planted Billy Apple in the Karl Maughan garden.
They’ve gone to a far-out galaxy of art collectives.
They’ve become a conceptual ambassador for an Australian bank.
They’ve become a pinball wizard with a spray-can.
They’ve become a smoke alarm, emitting faint beeps of distress.
They’re covered all over by an Onehunga onesie.

The Friday Poem is edited by Chris Tse. Submissions are currently closed.