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Prisoner in a Hole

Barely twenty-five, he smells

of yesterday’s spit and vomit,

black beard droops in clumps

from his drawn, sun-savaged face.

Hanging from a string

around his neck: a small holy book.

This man was once a child

held against the breast of a mother

who kissed his small meaty hands

that smelled of milk and tears.

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The glossary

The language about poetry

From aubade to zuihitsu, 207 definitions of the forms, figures, and schools that shape the line.

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