Dig caverns in your mind—proportioned, dry,mood-lit by simple sconces on the walls;frame out the ceilings, tile the earthen floor,close doorways so old memories won’t tryto whisper doubtful nothings down the halls,then set the character you built this for:Amalasuntha in the empty bathwhere you will say they found her, lay a scrollof Servius unraveled on the floor,dark dribbles crusted up, an aftermathof footprints—but you’ll need to keep control,protect her modesty as you deplorethe way she sprawls half covered by her hair,and trust that outside, on the stage of truth,your mouth will unlock, break the chalkof salt on your lips, speak her out of there,toward the sweating men, the roaring youthwho lap at words like water from the rock.
Orator
Luca D’Anselmi
Feature Date
- July 5, 2025
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Copyright © 2024 by Luca D’Anselmi.
All rights reserved.
Reproduced by Poetry Daily with permission.
Luca D’Anselmi holds a Ph.D. in Classics from Bryn Mawr College and teaches Latin and Greek. His poetry has recently appeared in Ekstasis, Trampoline, and Empty House Press. More at lucadanselmi.com.
17.4
Baltimore, Maryland
Johns Hopkins University
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Dora Malech
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