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    illustration of morning glories and a dragonfly on a fence

    Poem: “L’esthétique de la Ville”

    By Aaron Poochigian

    June 28, 2023
    2 Comments
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    • Katherine Trotter

      This poem made beautiful pictures in my mind. Thank you!

    • Eric Blauer

      Yes! Signs in the city.

    I love when nature recreates the urban.
    I love this garden on a fire escape:
    water in what had been a fifth of bourbon
    steeps lilies; and a cooler, left agape,
    holds, over dirt and worms, a swatch of lawn,
    a pinwheel and a decorative rock.
    Cherry tomato plants are growing on
    props sticking from a soil-stuffed cinderblock.
    There are some slugs; there is clematis scaling
    the brickwork and the air-conditioner.
    Plump pigeons, always roosting on the railing,
    come for her breadcrumbs. They are tame for her,
    the Circe of Gramercy Park, the girl
    for whom nibs open and all tendrils curl.

    illustration of morning glories and a dragonfly on a fence

    HyunJung Kim, The Fresh Summer, 2019. Used by permission.

    Contributed By AaronPoochigian Aaron Poochigian

    Aaron Poochigian earned a PhD in classics from the University of Minnesota and an MFA in poetry from Columbia University. His work has appeared in such publications as Best American Poetry, the Paris Review, and Poetry.

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    2 Comments
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