Surfaces, Simulacra and Sight

By Richard Mather

Simulacra peel

Continually from the body’s

Surface, each image

Bearing the appearance of the

Part it belongs to.

A purposeful doubling, perhaps, but

Afloat they hang

Suspended as if unsure of

Existence. Only for a

Moment because then rapid they

Migrate like birds frightened into flight.

If no resistance is met, they enter the

Stroma to strike the retina,

Stirring sight. From there they

Impact the mind, invoking inspiration.

Not an engineer’s traverse of

Boundaries and contours but an

Intimate encounter where the

Artist’s eye moves freely

Over the body, possessing and

Enjoying it without measure.

Perception concurs in

One action: the effect of a

Single cause called intention.

But what is not seen is

Excluded; it is

Unreal or on its way to

Being unreal even in the

Place of its own non-appearing.