In Berlin, at the New National Gallery, I read the poem Geometry Blinked Ruin Unimaginable from Auguries of Innocence. I wrote the poem envisioning Picasso painting his masterwork Guernica.
The Basque town of Guernica was destroyed by German bombing planes flying for Franco. Picasso, devastated, began the painting called Guernica two days later. Below are sketches he made in preparation. The mother, dead child, and the horse. He knew his mission and executed it despite being consumed by rage and deep sorrow.
Picasso said, “Painting is not made to decorate houses. It is a weapon of defensive and offensive war against the enemy.”
Live in Berlin