Hi MacArthur,
I couldn't resist this one, since I live in Umbria and Merrill is an interesting poet. I liked a lot of things in this poem--"shutters clatter," "loud rain in fractured space," and the rhymes are often surprising and rich (Merrill was a great rhymer). The description of the procession struck me as contrived and condescending, however. "Popery" plays no part in the processions I've seen! It's all a lot more pagan than that. And the term is usually disparaging. There's a saying in Italy, to the effect that there's one religion in Rome, another elsewhere. In any case, thanks very much for posting this poem.
All the best,
Andrew F.
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