The Self-Betrayal Which Is Nothing New

"There are no second acts in American life."

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Look now, miraculous, mirabilis, and truel

The lightning flash or new America

Stumbled on foolishly! what can I do

To make myself most prosperous for her?

1 asked myself, conjuring dignities,

Bestseller book or hit upon Broadway,

All of the limelight's bright banalities,

Hurrying to Hollywood for a photoplay,

Or a high chair in the old academies,

Lucky or strong, I can get everything

But what I want the most! For having these,

I would become a matinée's false king,

For in that glare and gilt, I would not be

The one who wants to know her endlessly.

Structure

16 lines · 3 stanzas