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From A Doctor Pedalled Her Bicycle Over the River Arno, published by Anansi in 2011.
An ill-minted coin, a monocle
Chained to a tuxedo,
The moon croons to strip-clubs,
And late-night burrito
Shops, lovers on pedicab tours
Of the harbour. Placido
Domingo on the stereo with merlot
And fettuccine alfredo.
A night for werewolves, hairy
Men sporting speedos
And high heels on the club stroll,
“The Streets of Laredo”
On ukulele and pennywhistle
Down at the lido
Where a shot-wrecked Aeneas
Meets his new Dido.
Virgil, installed in a corner stal
Puts pen to graffito:
“Tally-ho! Damn the torpedoes!
Bandita hearts Bandito!”1
Oh, tragic pyred Queen of Tyre,
It’s Fido not Dido
That translates as faithful,2
The “Fido”-fido credo
On love Dante witnesses mid-canto
When Aeneas snubs Dido
In the second circle where she’s been unjustly gaoled
For her raging—3
Now Freaks, Irregulars, Defects, Oddities,
People of the low, low albedo,
Let this be your motto:
“Love” the word not the weirdo.
___________________
1 Virgil’s friend Dante’s best Fido
Was “A Lady Loves Me” author Calvacanti, Guido.
2 “Testicle,” to the Roman tongue, sounded out “orchido.”
3 Spanish Guy Fawkes goes by Fawkes, Guido.
