Washington

No one rides on

the crest. No one stops Rembrandt.

Trousers worn down on parmesan.

On the crests of the hooved.

Dinosaurs are made of rubber,

more precisely, of green

water-soluble chewing

gum and that molasses

a la watered-down sherry.

You are drunk.

Of course I reserved two beds.

Of course I will force the door, what do I care.

CONTENTS

The Lucid Slovenian Green 1

Mills 2

In the Tongues of Bells 3

The Clouds of Tiepolo 4

The Edge From Where We Measure 5

Ferryman 6

Tiepolo Again 7

In the Tent Among Grapes 8

Mother and Death 9

Along Grajena River 10

The Dead 11

Ancestor 12

Academy of American Poets 13

Enamel 14

Vases 15

Pessoa Scolding Whitman 16

The Pacific Again 19

Libero 20

In New York, After Diplomatic Training 21

Boiling Throats 23

The Catalans, the Moors 24

Sand and Spleen Were Left in Your Nose 25

Arm Out and Point the Way 26

Fallow Land and the Fates 27

Perfection 28

Avenues 29

Dislocated, Circulating 30

Car 31

Odessa 32

Offspring and the Baptism 33

Washington 35

The King Likes the Sun 36

You Are at Home Here 37

Bites and Happiness 38

Baruzza 39

The Linden Tree 40

Holy Science 42

We Lived in a Hut, Shivering With Cold 44

At low tide . 45

Blue Wave 46

Colombia 47

And on the Slopes of La Paz 48

Coat of Arms 50

Fiery Chariot 51

Shifting the Dedications 52

Washing in Gold 53

The Wood’s White Arm 54

The Kid from Harkov 55

Porta di Leone 56

Paleochora 57

Persia 58

In the Walk of Tiny Dews 59

Olive Trees 60

Mornings 61

It Blunts 62

Marasca 63

Scarlet Toga 64

Shepherd, You Are Just Learning 66

The Cube that Spins and Sizzles, Circumscribes the Circle 67

The Man I Respected 68

The Hidden Wheel of Catherine of Siena 69

White Cones 70

Horses and Millet 71

Henry of Toulouse, Is That You? 72

New York–Montreal Train, 24 January, 1974 73

The West 76