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“Answering a Question in the Mountains” by John Ashbery 🇺🇸 (28 Jul 1927 – 3 Sep 2017)
I.
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I went into the mountains to interest myself
In the fabulous dinners of hosts distant and demure.
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The foxes followed with endless lights.
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Some day I am to build the wall
Of the box in which all angles are shown.
I shall bounce like a ball.
The towers of justice are waving
To describe the angles we describe.
Oh we have been so far
To instruct the birds in our cold ways.
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Near me I heard a sound,
The line of a match struck in care.
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It is late to be late.
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II.
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Let us ascend the hearts in our hearts.
Let us ascend trees in our heads,
The dull heads of trees.
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It is pain in the hand of the ungodly
To witness all the sentries,
The perfumed toque of dawn,
The hysteric evening with empty hands.
The snow creeps by; many light years pass.
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We see for the first time.
We shall see for the first time.
We have seen for the first time.
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The snow creeps by; many light years pass.
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III.
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I cannot agree or seck
Since I departed in the laugh of diamonds
The hosts of my young days.