Lost Cities

I saw in my dream.

the great lost cities, Macchu Picchu, Cambridge Mass, Angkor . . .

—John Berryman, The Dream Songs, No. 197

Feather-footed through the plashy fen passes the questing vole.—Evelyn Waugh, Scoop

My own lost cities are many! Here are a few for those who haven’t any:

Cape Town, where, in Khayelitsha,

four hundred thousand people make new homes

and some on occasion stone a passing car.

London, where the undeserving poor revile the undeserving rich

Though both alike lust for the same undeserving bitch.

Athens, where the weight of history often groans

So loud Greeks cannot hear their phones.

Berkeley, where I copyedited a myriad academic tomes,

Only in the end to be drop-kicked by gnomes.

(If this handful don't in themselves suffice,

add the lost city where you are right now for spice.)

Friday, January 17, 2025