Archive - Michael’s Substack

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…

Sep 16 •

August 2024

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…

Aug 31 •

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…

Aug 20 •

July 2024

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…

Jul 22 •

June 2024

Nihil humanum mihi alienum puto - Térence

Jun 25 •

Disjecta Membra

Naples Outskirts, May 3.

Jun 17 •

André Gide, Cologne 1943

This meeting between André Gide and Ernst Robert Curtius is recorded in Gide’s published journals (Cologne, March 16, 1943).

Jun 1 •

May 2024

Adapted from Leopardi

May 17 •

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.

May 2 •

April 2024

Fashions change and new customs devised, Naked bodies are molded anew, Simple garments are fastened and dyed, Skin uncovered then hidden from view. On…

Apr 17 •

March 2024

Adapted from Leopardi

Mar 29 •

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…

Mar 1 •

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