Bronze Woman IV, Thomas Schutte, Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
She could no longer hold
her flesh together,
the folds and heft of the commandments
she carried for so long
finally collapsing on themselves.
She lies on her steel slab
like Isaac on the altar.
We cannot help running our hands
over the splayed bronze
of her shoulder and breast.
Beyond her the bridges and towers
of the cold city extend
into their lonely, lawful places.
Her tarnished lips mouth Abba, Father,
gaping in the frost
long after the rest of us have left.
(Front page image courtesy Walker Art Center)