Last, Last Kiss
The theme here is economy, the forms re-used all through,
One nose, one eye, one mouth, and yes, one thought between these two.
Sculpture in a cubist style, 100 years too late?
More fitted to Brancusi - is that not out of date?
Modigliani, Brzeska, Lipchitz, all mined a precious vein,
Which folk rushed past in manic haste towards the abstract claim.
Mondrian's finest paintings did not come within 'De Styjl',
How are squares and primaries expressively worthwhile?
For rich, emotive subtlety see his work from earlier still,
One, 'Farm near Duivendrecht' shows extra special skill.
In spoil-heaps glinting purest gold can anybody say
What Futurist or Vortex ideas hide from light of day.
But an egg was carved - a faultless shape - why! it was nearly round!
Malevitch made the whitest square - perfection had been found! But,
Achieve complete abstraction and you fall back to the ground.
We need ideas and images and dreams to make art fly.
So finding cubist nuggets now? It might be worth a try.
Can one put the clock back as Pre-Raphaelites tried to do?
