Chocolate grinder (no 1)
By Alex Gallagher
Bittersweet spiral with machine-made lungs
the whirring hum of a nascent grind
swivel of drums oscillating in time
like the saccharine pirouette
of a mechanical ballerina
dancing through a complex system of wires and pulleys
the push and pull of a honeyed heartbeat
barrels spinning in tachycardia
In response to Marcel Duchamp's 'Chocolate grinder (no 1)' 1913.
See the artwork that inspired this poem in the flesh, along with more than 100 of Marcel Duchamp’s world-renowned pieces in ‘The Essential Duchamp’ exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, 27 April – 11 August 2019.