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Absalom was riding his mule and the mule passed under the thick branches of a great oak. Absalom's head got caught in the oak and he was left hanging between heaven and

earth, while the mule he was riding went on.

- II SAMUEL 18:9

I make my way alone through the hand-to-hand fighting

to A3 and A5. Red velvet. Brass and oak.

The special effects will include strobe lighting

and artificial smoke.

A glance to A5. Patrons are reminded, mar bheadh,

that the management accepts no responsibility in the case of theft.

Even as the twenty-five-piece orchestra

that's masked offstage left

strikes up, there's still a chance, I suppose, that the gainsayers

might themselves be gainsaid

as you rush, breathless, into my field of vision.

Understudies and standbys never substitute for listed players,

however, unless a specific announcement is made.

There will be no intermission.

On

Paul Muldoon

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translated from the Polish written by
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