Floating in stone,
each membrane, hair and spiracle
as perfect as if newly hatched -
an Anglo-Saxon charm to shrink a wen
to smaller than a linseed grain;
T. Junius Montanus who can tell by taste
if an oyster comes from Lazio or Kent;
the yellow bird upon a briar
that calls Yan-Xi to his death,
are held for us in ink
like mayflies trapped in amber.
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