Mother of Dada, by Linda Scheller

           Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven (1874-1927)

barbed wire corset
carburetor vase

a woman of influence
strides Greenwich Village
half-naked
with a coal scuttle on her head

frightened men and scandalized women
gape and sneer and laugh

Ah, but Marcel, isn’t it true?
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

embrace ugliness
flaunt desire

any and all cast-off objects
may become art

scramble language
flip roles

any and all cast-off artists
may become new

and in our wildest minds
we are

~

Linda Scheller is the author of two books of poetry, Wind and Children (Main Street Rag 2022) and Fierce Light (FutureCycle Press 2017). Her poetry and book reviews are widely published, and recent honors include Best of the Net and Pushcart Prize nominations. Her website is lindascheller.com

Published by themuseumofamericana