Ara vus prec

Chapter 22: COUSIN NANCY

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About This Book

This collection gathers short poems and dramatic monologues that juxtapose urban decay with classical and religious allusions, moving between lyrical impressions, satirical sketches, and stark meditations. Voices shift from weary, reflective speakers to grotesque comic figures, presenting fragmentary images of streets, interiors, and mythic echoes. Recurring concerns include spiritual barrenness, memory and desire, failed communication, and the tension between irony and seriousness. Formally, the pieces mix free verse and measured lyric moments with abrupt tonal changes to convey dislocation and emotional opacity.

COUSIN NANCY

iss Nancy Ellicott

Strode across the hills and broke them,

Rode across the hills and broke them—

The barren New England hills—

Riding to hounds

Over the cow-pasture.

Miss Nancy Ellicott smoked

And danced all the modern dances;

And her aunts were not quite sure how they felt about it,

But they knew that it was modern.

Upon the glazen shelves kept watch

Matthew and Waldo, guardians of the faith,

The army of unalterable law.