@Large

I had read about Ai Weiwei’s
Installation on Alcatraz,
Art designed for a space
That he has never visited.

I.
Little silver stools in twelve cells
Each with an audio by an artist
Detained. Ten I had never heard of,
And I had no time to listen,
But I liked the concept.

II.
In a cell, an invitation to write
To incarcerated dissidents,
Let them know that they are not
Forgotten.
You are free, but sit in jail
And write to those in jail,
Not free.

III.
Most of Alcatraz is concrete ugly,
So two tiled cells stand out:
Observation rooms for the insane.
Nothing to see here now,
But a little light.
Nothing to hear here now,
But a Hopi chant,
A Tibetan chant,
Along with the sounds of visitors
Joining you.

IV.
Toilets, sinks, even a tub in some cells
Appear to overflow with bubbles.
But they are behind bars, so it is
Difficult to tell for sure.
At last: enter the final cell and see
White ceramic blossoms, up close.
The prisoners here probably did not receive
Get well bouquets.
Here are ghost flowers.

V.
The million and more Lego blocks
That make up the faces of 176 dissidents
In shocking color
Make a carpet for an enormous room.
These faces ready to be stepped on
But are not (at least by us).
The faces are harder to see clearly up close,
And I recognize so few,
Yet it moves me to see the individual pieces
Combine to make a forceful whole.
Go up to the guard walk for better clarity
And stand in this place of vision and power,
Claustrophobic and uncomfortable,
Seeing through rusted bars.

VI.
A five-ton wing in the base of an industrial building,
Made of the reflective panels for cooking pots and tea pots.
A wing in flight, yet trapped in a lower floor,
Soaring and stuck.
I don’t usually think industrial is beautiful,
But this is magnificent.

VII.
I was unprepared for my first view
Of a dragon head facing me,
The start of a dragon kite,
Snaking through the factory room,
Undulating higher and lower.
The glorious colors vibrate in the sun,
Dozens of round panels to enjoy.
Butterfly and bird kites in the corners
Keep the dragon company.
Here is beauty, trapped inside.
Release this kite and it could fly.