mhall46184@aol.com
“The F*g with the Bow Tie” 1
“Only in Russia is poetry respected – it gets people killed.
Is there anywhere else where poetry is so common a motive for murder?”
-Osip Mandelstam 2
Spain. Poetry got people killed in Spain -
And still wherever tyrants of delicate nerves
And artistic sensitivities hear
Whispered rumors of whispered disapproval
And so an innocent, fearful and trembling
Must be motored away to a moonless death
Upon orders spoken, written, tweeted
Telephoned, telegraphed, or teletyped
One prays he has a moment to adjust his tie
Perfectly - as an honor to Poetry
1 The slur is attributed to Federico Garcia Lorca’s murderers:
https://lithub.com/dictators-kill-poets-on-federico-garcia-lorcas-last-days/
2 Quoted by Yevgeny Yevtushenko in 20th Century Russian Poetry
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