Michael’s Substack

Michael’s Substack

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For J.
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Michael Z.
The Navigli Strays
Is this seat taken?
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Michael Z.
2
This Caesura Kills Fascists
As inspired by a particularly insipid New York Times editorial.
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Michael Z.
2
Sartorial Desires
Not enough credit is given To the outlines of men’s fashion, Our common skin, a vision Of equality in cotton. And not enough thought is spared For the…
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Michael Z.
Soft Landing
I Click of the knee, like a latch in need of oil, And then the twang of coming back again; Like sex you find it easy or impossible By the dusty road and…
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Michael Z.
3
The Death of Valentin de Boulogne
Pictures referenced: Martyrdom of St Processo and St Martiniano - Valentin de Boulogne, The Martyrdom of Saint Érasme - Nicolas Poussin.
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Michael Z.
1
Resort Town in Winter
It’s on the terrace then, that we, those strange off-season crabs, discover what it is we’ve come to play for; diffused gray-shadowed palms, an angry…
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Michael Z.
Monet, l'Orangerie
You’d see the charm, how manicured and small That pond—now by a highway—stands preserved. How ordinary is the light, how short That bridge from which…
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Michael Z.
2
The Wrong and the Right
I knew a man, and not that long ago, Who killed himself to save his son the pain And the expense of seeing him grow old. Strange mercy, horror, crime…
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Michael Z.
And All So Long Ago
Grave the censure of the critic ― come, dear boy, and I’ll explain; Men can only summon demons from our common Christian plane. Swinburne, Huysmans…
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Michael Z.
Mirabeau's Love Letters
At the height of the French revolution, and the prelude to the reign of terror, Mirabeau, upon hearing of Sophie’s death, left the National Assembly and…
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Michael Z.
1
John the Bap
Nihil humanum mihi alienum puto - Térence
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Michael Z.
4
Disjecta Membra
Naples Outskirts, May 3.
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Michael Z.
1
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