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“Tapestry” by Charles Simic 🇷🇸🇺🇸 (9 May 1938 – 9 Jan 2023)
It hangs from heaven to earth.
There are trees in it, cities, rivers,
small pigs and moons. In one corner
the snow falling over a charging cavalry,
in another women are planting rice.
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You can also see:
a chicken carried off by a fox,
a naked couple on their wedding night,
a column of smoke,
an evil-eyed woman spitting into a pail of milk.
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What is behind it?
—Space, plenty of empty space.
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And who is talking now?
—A man asleep under his hat.
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What happens when he wakes up?
—He’ll go into a barbershop.
They’ll shave his beard, nose, ears, and hair,
To make him look like everyone else.