“Show me the place.”
Duke Senior
in As You Like It (2.1)
67: The Bronx, New York; Woodlawn Cemetery; July 2003
Here Melville lies—impressive grave
That’s weathered long and well.
He’s quiet now (as we will be)—
But, oh, the tales he’d tell!
Of Moby-Dick we all have heard—
But many others, too—
Like “Bartleby,” “Benito”—all
Eternal—and so true.
His final years—he was a ghost.
A quiet life he led—
And when he died,* so many thought
He was already dead!
But words live on—as Melville’s will—
Defying time and death.
Yes, words can live despite the fact
They are not borne by breath.
*Herman Melville, 1819–1891
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