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  • The American Poetry Review

    SIX BESTIARY POEMS

    Nov 01, 2020 4 minutes
    MARIANNE BORUCH

    A Prologue

    Pliny the Elderon what he saw and heard, 37 “books” toround that up, early C.E. as heproceeded to be infinite. His . His .First bestiary ever in Book 8. Land lifeand sea life and through-the-air and underground life.Same as now. Only —the one thingPliny never imagined: he’d be ancient.We watched the Cassowary go famouslyscary beside an ordinary house in Queensland,a Tasmanian Devil road-leap on cue, at dusk, on the radio west of Hobart, the Lyric Operaall the way from Chicago to that end of the Earth.When you see a Platypus love hisas he does, what happens?Or while the Echidna slips into grass as into a pocket.And Kangaroos, Wallabies lying down totheir regal as brilliant birds span out overheadwithout number.You think this world doesn’t know things? I asked the firesfrom a distance. Did you think you cando any damn thing you want?Like asking a mad bad baby to fix cars or not eatpablum or be a sweet polite cry in the night.

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