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December 5, 2021

Appalling Heart

Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven

City stir—wind on eardrum—
dancewind: herbstained—
flowerstained—silken—rustling—
tripping—swishing—frolicking—
courtesing—careening—brushing—
flowing—lying down—bending—
teasing—kissing: treearms—grass—
limbs—lips.
City stir on eardrum—.
In night lonely
peers—:
moon—riding!
pale—with beauty aghast—
too exalted to share!
in space blue—rides she away from mine chest—
illumined strangely—
appalling sister!

Herbstained—flowerstained—
shellscented—seafaring—
foresthunting—junglewise—
desert gazing—
rides heart from chest—
lashing with beauty—
afleet—
across chimney—
tinfoil river
to meet
another’s dark heart!

Bless mine feet!

This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on December 5, 2021, by the Academy of American Poets.

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“Appalling Heart” appeared in The Little Review vol. VII, no. 3. (September–December, 1920).

Elsa Hildegard Baroness von Freytag-Loringhoven (born Elsa Plötz), otherwise known as “The Baroness,” was a German artist, poet, and performer associated with the Dada movement. Active among the literary, artistic, and intellectual circles of early twentieth-century
New York, she died on December 14, 1927.

The Little Review
(September–December, 1920)

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Thanks to Ilya Kaminsky, author of Deaf Republic (Graywolf Press, 2019), who curated Poem-a-Day for this month’s weekdays. Read a Q&A about Kaminsky’s curatorial approach and find out more about our guest editors for the year.

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"Appalling Heart" by Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven

Appalling Heart

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