The Belvedere
(After: M.C. Escher)
These perspectival flexibilities confirm,
Even as they confuse, the view. Their interlinked
Impossibilities of structural design
Create illusions of reality where none
Can be. In which direction is this place aligned?.
And is the building outside in, or inside out?.
Perhaps the scene’s an allegory for the mind
Looking two ways at once – towards futurity
And history – whilst trying to make common sense
Of both appearance and reality by means
Of instantaneous, intuitive response
And simultaneous, reasoned analysis.
Such is its subtle challenge to our sensibilities
We lose the foundation of our logical faculties.
