a fragment from Nottiteln #73

r. l. swihart

(He entered an hour after they'd fallen asleep
and moved soundlessly toward the window
On the wall adjacent to the door
a reproduction of Interno Metafisco Con Biscotti
bluntly gleamed
On the wall near the window
a Baccanale in watercolors and ink
Over Piazza Venezia floodlights held the chariots
aloft
Everything beneath piled up in darkness
The Palatine softly abutted a paler
sky)