CAM Writer Kayleigh Merrell Responds to "From the Fire" Exhibition

We spent our last evening in the Hughes Gallery at CAM's current exhibit "From the Fire," a remarkable collection of contemporary art glass sculpture and installations.

Our youngest CAM writer to date, 19-year-old Kayleigh Merrell, wrote the poem "Our Hands" in response to "Diana" by #John Littleton and #Kate Vogel. She also references #Shannon Brunskill's eerie installation depicting a hastily emptied closet.

"From the Fire" provided unlimited opportunity to re-imagine a host of evocative narratives; I'll be posting more work from this session soon!

Our Hands

By Kayleigh Merrell

Blood drips slowly from our heart 

down to our hands 

while holding the eye

that sees through love

and fright,

we promise 

everything will be alright,

but will it,

Really?

The closet shines on one side 

while darkness takes over

the other.

Read but don't think. 

But why read without 

thinking? 

Don't dumb yourself down

Build yourself up

Let the pride take control 

of what was once uncontrolled

so with our hands

we will let go.