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In the Garden of Freemasons
- Northwestern University Press
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26 In the Garden of Freemasons Gnats flee into thickets Swans too, in search of periodic water. I brood on Jibanananda das, poems tucked Into a notebook, returning from the book fair, Struck dead by a tramcar, aged fifty-four. On tendrils of dirt, in the spot where he fell Spirits cluster. Children sing to each other Tossing balls as children do, a mechanical bird tethered with wire Circles a stall of neon-colored bras, panties too. needing a place to wait for you (Chowringhee undid me) I sit on a flat stone in the garden of Freemasons. What did the poet say about swans, nine of them, mystical? He did not know why there were nine Vanishing into trees, but that there were nine He was sure. It’s dark in your city, clouds cover the moon, The House of Freemasons tilts With the weight of gnats’ wings. 27 Under a crystal chandelier, When he’s sure no one is looking, a man with red hair polishes his own shoes. don’t go away, think of the poem I hear you say— It’s all you need to do now, or ever really. ...