One of six unique works in “A PICTURE OF MY MIND: Poems Written by Allen Ginsberg’s Photographs,” theVERSEverse’s inaugural collection of ekphrastic poetry using natural language processing technology and text-to-image/image-to-text techniques to respond to the iconic words and images of the legendary Beat poet. Developed in conjunction with The Fahey/Klein Gallery on the occasion of the exhibition “Muses & Self: Photographs by Allen Ginsberg,” in partnership with VV member Ross Goodwin, the Allen Ginsberg Estate, and the Tezos Foundation.
METROPOLITAN WHISPERS
Brooding brother of the beat, uptown in hallowed halls,
eyes fixing that look of icy inquiry on ancient Egyptian codices,
conversing with forgotten pharaohs, a feral connection,
the fall of civilization seen in a glance –
all sphinx-like mystery and enigmatic understanding
in haunted stillness, museum echoes reaching through time.
Past etched into present, the lore of then
speaking to the wisdom of now.
– theVERSEverse after Allen Ginsberg,“William S Burroughs, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC, 1953”
