| Mark Conway |
6. The Past Described, As a Figure
from The Book of Isaac, Burning
What were those days like? Remembering
is like remembering
white, or water. It’s another resemblance,
the libraries packed
with broken metaphors, book after book filled
with “water is like...”,
“white as...” When Alexandria caught fire,
the librarians burned like candles,
like suet. As for the manuscripts and their similes,
nothing was lost – it was like a fire.
Mark Conway
6. The Past Described, As a Figure (from The Book of Isaac, Burning) was first published in The Paris Review, Spring, 2003.
Poem, copyright © 2003 by Mark Conway
Appearing on From the Fishouse with permission
Audio file, copyright © 2005, From the Fishouse
Posted on April 25, 2005 6:31 AM