Ok, I hope three is enough to answer at once. I’ve only just learned (after two years!) that individual responses—repeatedly bumping me to the top—are distracting and rude. The problem is that I’m a criminally lazy correspondent, and if I have to respond to ten at a time, I may resort to a collective thank-you and let it go at that.
Yves, I’m not sure I understand your advice, except that you and others fault this ghazal for lack of emotion. I take that seriously and will let it work on me.
Matt, I thought of it as the story of a city—a dramatic history—but if it doesn’t engage you, it doesn’t. You and others have convinced me that a poem—a ghazal in particular—needs more heart and more of me.
Nemo, I too need the stimulation of form, and as you know, I crave a sensual, palpable form, which may be why the ghazal resonates with me. Form may be as important as content for me, but it can’t make up for a dearth of content—in this case, feelingful content. I hear you.
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