Thursday, March 10, 2016

Sarah St Vincent Welch #70 The mask from Mer



The mask from Mer

carapace face
mask from Mer
patterned and stitched
turtle shell shaped
eyes focused on mine
I hear the steady scrape
of past and present
frame of jaw hair nose
count four lines for beard
three for brow
notice long strokes for neck
nose, a scarred cheek
the mask means more
than I could ever know
how could it’s collector
call it wretched ?

are the marks the turtle’s journey
or the masks? to Cornwell
then Portsmouth
from the Torres Strait,
Mer to British Museum
now here nearer home
museum to museum

the mask looks past me

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