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Venice Unrevisited

Murray Edmond

It was better to have imagined Venice
than to have been there
the speedboats on the grand canal
gypsies in stone corners with drooping babies

the day you spent with the famous actress
who turned out to be a real person
twelve in one hotel room all illegal
and then the midnight flit

a comedic manager miming anger in your wake
waiting all day to be hungry
coffee like soup Sonia Delauney
over the fireplace

the cemetery of much-loved dogs
the nurse and the black ball
the hair that falls across your face
all night the open window shines

a television full of stars
we settle down to watch the film commence
a hungry lion looks out and roars
the figure of speech which is Venice