A Queen and a Fool

A dialogue

Queen. I’m reading "Aestas". Do you know who has written this?

Fool. You are wrong. "Aestas" is a work in progress. Walter Daniel is still writing it.

Queen. Who is Walter Daniel?

Fool. A poet and translator, above all.

Queen. What poem does he aim to provide?

Fool. "Aestas" is a long sequence of poems that are built around various semantic layers. (sigh)

Modest whores are sagacious,

So let them read Walter’s works;

Idle princesses are salacious,

So let them devour Walter’s words.

Queen. How can I contact him?

Fool. Send an email to anapaest at gmail dot com.

Queen. What painters does he prefer most?

Fool. Jackson Pollock, Camille Pissarro, Georgia O’Keeffe, Andrew Wyeth, Odilon Redon, Claude Monet, John Atkinson Grimshaw, Alfred Sisley, Joan Milo.

Queen. To what music does he remain loyal?

Fool. Nothing in particular. Great performers he loves.

Queen. What does he read?

Fool. Works of Marcus Tullius Cicero, Publius Ovidius Maso, Quintus Horatius Flaccus, Hermann Broch, Paul Celan, Rainer Maria Rilke . . .

Queen. . . . And?

Fool. William Shakespeare and Ezra Weston Loomis Pound.

Queen. Doesn’t Walter Daniel read Finnegans Wake?

Fool. He reads it and admires the author. [Aside] Joyce is a charlatan. I only admire him for her majesty’s sake.

Queen. Where does Walter Daniel live?

Fool. Liveable or unbelievable, places to live are peripheral on the Atlantic’s rim.

Queen. What do you mean?

Fool. The sun is white, and the grass is green.

Queen. Is the sun white?

Fool. If the grass is green, wake me at midnight. If the sun is dark, I’ll paint it bright.

Queen. Pray for the sun!

Fool. I’m sorry, I’m not your son.

Queen. What did Walter Daniel read for his degrees?

Fool. German literature for undergraduate research, mathematical economics for graduate research, paid excessive fees.

Queen. What subjects are counted as his interest?

Fool. Latin grammar and prosody and versification at no cost.

Queen. What does he recommend?

Fool. Be wise and righteous, so you don’t need to pretend.

Money increases everyone’s greed,

Greedy traders will end up in jail;

Good education makes us gracious,

Alas, wisdom is but no one’s jewel.

                                                        [Exeunt.