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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
André Gide, Cologne 1943
This meeting between André Gide and Ernst Robert Curtius is recorded in Gide’s published journals (Cologne, March 16, 1943).
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Michael Z.
The Infinite
Adapted from Leopardi
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Michael Z.
The Sound of Politics
Words carry 'cross the table in a rage That shakes the salt and condiments, a stare, Refuting words—what is it that you meant? The senses wake.
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Michael Z.
Beauty
Fashions change and new customs devised, Naked bodies are molded anew, Simple garments are fastened and dyed, Skin uncovered then hidden from view. On…
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Michael Z.
7
To Himself
Adapted from Leopardi
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Michael Z.
2
Voice of the Fire
The fireplace had leaped to sudden life appraising with diffused vermilion eye my room, its poverty, with some delight it asked need I protection…
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Michael Z.
2
News: An Entertainment
Man’s grudging progress out of slime Assessed without the agitprop, Denied false hope, or mock sublime, Stripped bare of sentimental slop, Suggests…
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Michael Z.
4
Death of an Actress
First putting off the process for a week, Enlisting her two sons she drove to see That home, expecting rough indignity, But finding it well-stocked and…
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Michael Z.
What the Morning Knows
In my case sleep renews and strengthens my resolve to go and see the world for more than dreams. It’s only at mid- afternoon that horrors stir and…
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Michael Z.
3
Mar Saba
From Palestine, an eve before crusading, With Europe fast approaching an impasse Pietro Barbolano, Doge of Venice, Had whisked away the bones of Saint…
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Michael Z.
1
Persistence
Step right up to the brink of things committed long ago; a dock worn thin by salt and wind, a sea that howls below, a vacant corner of the world few…
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Michael Z.
Museumsplatz 1: Self-Portraits from Vienna
Kokoschka I give my world a lapidary sense; Kids flying kites, and frisbees have their place Despite the hint of national disgrace, Despite the tyrants…
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Michael Z.
1
Hinterland
By famous hills great vineyards rise and crest, Onlookers grinning they have chosen best Among the brochure scenes. As terraced roofs reflect a Tuscan…
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Michael Z.
4
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