The way this poem's laid out, Appius Claudius has the last word

[jeff harrison]

they had good cheer, those feudal barons 
enigmas of (not "to") one another — 
cheeriest of all was Whippingcane Sam, that 
open book (tho with only two pages exposed), 
whose castrato would often belt out "Casanova 
was a fortunate man, for such an unusual Orfeo" 


the lyrics to "Casanova Was A Fortunate Man"? 


pretty much "Casanova was a fortunate man, for 
such an unusual Orfeo" sang variously for hours or 
minutes on end to the dual pages that is the face 
of Whippingcane Sam, who was metamorphosed 
into a tome by the other barons (for a cause they 
could only recall upon overhearing "Casanova was 
a fortunate man, for such an unusual Orfeo" 


what are the features of Whippingcane Sam's face? 


VERSO: 


The Dying Earth (1950) 
by Jack Vance 
illustrations by Mado Spiegler 


The Quaker City; or, The Monks of Monk Hall (1845) 
by George Lippard 
with illustrations by Schlechter Duvall 


Le Mystère des Cathédrales (1926) 
by Fulcanelli 
illustrations by Jacques Lacomblez 




RECTO: 


Mrs. Armytage: or Female Domination (1836) 
by Catherine Grace Frances Gore 
with illustrations by Debra Taub 


The Nine Unknown (1924) 
by Talbot Mundy 
illustrated by Karol Brown 


Heresbachius: Foure Bookes of Husbandrie (1577) 
by Barnabe Googe 
illustrated by J Karl Bogartte 




one morning the castrato, perhaps 
a prestidigitator all this time, perhaps 
not, pulled a bookmark out of (or from 
behind) Whippingcane Sam's ear 


what did the bookmark look like? 


untold museums and pages 
have been searched, but 
this miserable approximation 

http://www.instoneinc.com/gallery/Virginia-O.jpg 

is the best that's been found 


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