Porcelain – Beatrice Pizer

Preamble to share with listeners:

This ceramic by Katie Morris caught my attention. Because of its hollow arms it made me think. Perhaps it was meant as a candelabra to hang on a wall? A fusion of woman and tree with fluted arms. An Object. This set off a stream of thought also about the fusion of woman and tree, about the objectification of women and of nature that underlies domestic violence, political violence and ecological exploitation.

Porcelain

Porcelain, my name is Porcelain
but I am not fragile
you cannot cut me down
I am a tree
You cannot deforest me
though you might want to
my arms, my legs, my fingers they
are branches
that hold up the sky
would you want to cut me
down, would you?
Would you paint my cheeks
with rouge to make me look
more pretty?

The wilderness is my room.
If you do not open
the door and enter
my room am I real?
If you do not see me
unless you put me in a dress
that shows my legs
am I real?
‘Once you’ve seen
one tree you’ve seen them
all’ said a famous politician.
But trees are our salvation.
We cannot breathe without
them. We cannot breathe.

Beatrice Pizer