This discussion sorely tempts me to post some short verse by Tim Murphy, who often demonstrates that "density," brevity, simplicity, and clarity can be achieved all at once. I find the latter quality missing from "Nightgown." Merrill did not feel free to call a queen a queen, and I can't be bothered to decode his oblique references. No doubt the modernist fashion for obscurity suited his private imperative for concealment.
Alan Sullivan
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