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Jorge Luis Borges

The Argentine poet, critic, and short-story writer Borges was born in Buenos Aires. Borges has been widely hailed as the foremost contemporary Spanish-American writer. He was educated in Switzerland and afterward

Boast of Quietness

by Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986)

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16

Writings of light assault the darkness, more prodigious than meteors.
The tall unknowable city takes over the countryside.
Sure of my life and my death, I observe the ambitious and would like to understand them.
Their day is greedy as a lariat in the air.
Their night is a rest from the rage within steel, quick to attack.
They speak of humanity.
My humanity is in feeling we are all voices of the same poverty.
They speak of homeland.
My homeland is the rhythm of a guitar, a few portraits, an old sword,

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Poets Book of Days

August 24

Jorge Luis Borges born, 1899

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Poetry Trivia

Question:

What poet acted as John Milton's assistant during the interregnum, only to become a member of Parliament during the Restoration, successfully petitioning Charles II not to execute Milton for treason?

Answer

Andrew Marvell

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