For Khalo

This piece was performed live at the Kresge Court in the Detroit Institute of Arts during the Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera exhibition opening.

On the canvas I see
water color, pencil, oil
flowers, cotton clouds, holding hands
nature, earth, agriculture, fertility
Mexican folk art, Mexican identity
unity, togetherness, harmony
expressionless faces, no smiles
flowers on backs like burdens
boy with dog, loneliness, together
warmth, cold
clutching onto grain until they meld into your own fingers
cactus hands reaching with thorns
she wants her baby
crash, flaws, hiding pain
elegant jewelry, covering scars
covered yet open
expressionless passion, love, pain
loss, gone, dead, bleeding
orchids, afraid, alone, solitary
she wanted her baby
fire, mourning, friendly folded paper
pain, so much hurt, blood
expressionless people, always expressionless
hiding something
half smiles, no smiles
homesickness, scrunched eyebrows
labor, satisfaction
holding onto something
not finished, incomplete
witnessed suicide, dead
watercolor, pencil, oil​

-​Hawa Rahman