“Writing, I crushed an insect with my nail
And thought nothing at all.”

—  Karl Shapiro

"Interludes" III, in From Darkness To Light : A Confession of Faith in the form of an Anthology (1956) edited by Victor Gollancz
Context: Writing, I crushed an insect with my nail
And thought nothing at all. A bit of wing
Caught my eye then, a gossamer so frail And exquisite, I saw in it a thing
That scorned the grossness of the thing I wrote.
It hung upon my finger like a sting.

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Karl Shapiro photo
Karl Shapiro 15
Poet, essayist 1913–2000

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