Half a day’s detour to Gran Quivira”and we arrive, near sunset,to find a locked gate across the road.We climb the fence and leave exact changefor maps of the ruins. A sign warnsof rattlesnakes that shelter inthe deep, open rooms and crumbling wallsof the ancient Spanish mission . . . . Continue Reading »
It assaults the eye, the Ponder familygraveyard, with twin obelisks visiblehalf a mile away. Inside its fence,weeds, sawbriar, two monoliths inscribed”in ivy wreaths” “George L.” and “His wife,Sarah.” Beyond these stones lie markersfor three . . . . Continue Reading »
No angel with uplifted hand, no symbolof the Holy Spirit, gliding down ongilded beams”and for all we know the womanis no virgin. Still, any woman readingis an annunciation. Vermeer knew this:reading is parthenogenetic, magicdoubling of the self fertilized by words.His girl reading stands in . . . . Continue Reading »
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