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| Anonymous Flemish artist Roman landscape with view of the Colosseum ca. 1500-1600 drawing Morgan Library, New York |
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| Maarten van Heemskerck Rome - Ruins on the Palatine Hill ca. 1532-36 drawing Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Maarten van Heemskerck Study of unidentified ruins with parts of the ancient city wall of Rome in background ca. 1532-36 drawing Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Jan Brueghel the Elder after Matthijs or Paul Bril View in Rome with round temple and so-called Temple of Fortuna Virilis drawing 1594 British Museum |
The Temple of the Animals
The temple of the animals has fallen into disrepair.
The pad of feet has faded.
The panthers flee the shadows of the day.
The smell of musk has faded but lingers there –
lingers, lingers, Ah, bitterly in my room.
Tired, I recall the animals of last year:
the altars of the bear, tribunals of the ape,
solitude of elephantine gloom, rare
zebra-striped retreats, prophecies of dog,
sanctuaries of the pygmy deer.
Were there rituals I had forgotten? animal calls
to which those animal voices replied,
calld and calld until that jungle stirrd.
Were there voices that I heard?
Love was the very animal made his lair,
slept out his winter in my heart.
Did he seek my heart or ever
sleep there?
I have seen the animals depart,
forgotten their voices, or barely remembered
– like the last speech when the company goes
or the beloved face that the heart knows,
forgets and knows –
I have heard the dying footsteps fall.
The sound has faded but lingers here.
Ah, bitterly I recall
the animals of last year.
– Robert Duncan (1957)
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| Anonymous artist Interior of Roman ruins ca. 1600-1700 drawing National Galleries of Scotland |
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| Anonymous artist Rome - Arch of Constantine with Colosseum behind ca. 1600-1700 drawing National Galleries of Scotland |
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| Anonymous artist Riders near Roman ruins ca. 1600-1700 drawing National Galleries of Scotland |
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| Anonymous Dutch artist Rome - Ruins of the so-called Tomb of the Horatii and Curiatii ca. 1675-1711 etching Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Anonymous Dutch artist Rome - Ruins of the Baths of Constantine ca. 1675-1711 etching Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Anonymous Dutch artist Rome - Pantheon ca. 1675-1711 etching Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Allan Ramsay Rome - Temple of Venus and Roma ca. 1755 drawing, watercolor National Galleries of Scotland |
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| Allan Ramsay Rome - Interior of the Colosseum ca. 1755 drawing, watercolor National Galleries of Scotland |
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| Allan Ramsay Rome - Interior of the Colosseum ca. 1755 drawing, watercolor National Galleries of Scotland |
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| Allan Ramsay Rome - Interior of the Colosseum ca. 1755 drawing, watercolor National Galleries of Scotland |