Oh, Beautifully Savage Mind

On February 11, 2010, two days before my birthday, Lee Alexander McQueen died. Over the years, he has always been my favourite designers and I must say I was sad to hear that he had died. The thing is I don't react the same way to death as others, it is something to be respected and accepted as part of life. Anyway, The Metropolitan Museum had put on an exhibition of his work called Alexander McQueen - Savage Beauty which ran from May 4, 2011 to August 7, 2011 and I never got to see it in person. When I read that it was ending on Garance Dore's  blog and saw the pictures she took, I was inspired to write this poem. I hope you like it.

The Met

Oh,
Beautifully savage mind
Wrapped in your neuroses,
Your madness,
Your genius.
I was never sure
Where one began
And the other ended.
All of them residing in
You.

Oh,
Beautifully savage mind,
You inspired me
To see beyond
The parameters of fashion,
Beyond fabric and string,
Fiber and skin,
To a place where
Wood, feathers, horns
And butterflies
Adorn the bodies of nymphs.

Oh,
Beautifully savage mind,
I knew not of your tears,
Your pain, your loss,
The little monsters
That whispered sadness
Into your ears.
I only saw the beauty
That spilled from your mind
By way of your fingers.

Oh,
Beautifully savage mind,
If only we knew,
We would have been
Angels whispering love,
Encouragement, peace
Into your ears.
Our words becoming
Fingers, hands, arms
Reaching across the chasm
Of your pain,
Embracing you,
Warming you
As you pass through
The wintertime called grief.

Oh,
Beautifully savage mind,
We did not know
And you slipped away
Into the great unknown,
And all we can do
Is hold on.
Hold on to the beauty
You left behind,
Hold on to name
We promise never to forget.

Oh,
Beautifully savage mind,
We promise to never forget
That you name was
Alexander McQueen.

To see more of his work from the exhibition, click here.