poem || Jeff Harrison

Casanova Was A Fortunate Man

they had good cheer, those feudal barons
enigmas of (not "to") one another —
cheeriest of all was Whippingcane Sam, that
open book, whose castrato would often belt out
"Casanova was a fortunate man, for such an unusual Orfeo"

the lyrics to "Casanova Was A Fortunate Man"?

pretty much "Casanova was a fortunate man, for
such an unusual Orfeo" sang variously for hours or
minutes on end to the dual pages that is the face
of Whippingcane Sam, who was metamorphosed
into a tome by the other barons (for a cause they
could only recall upon overhearing "Casanova was
a fortunate man, for such an unusual Orfeo")

what were the features of Whippingcane Sam's face?

RECTO:

The Dying Earth
by Jack Vance

The Quaker City; or, The Monks of Monk Hall
by George Lippard

Le Mystère des Cathédrales
by Fulcanelli

VERSO:

Mrs. Armytage: or Female Domination
by Catherine Grace Frances Gore

The Nine Unknown
by Talbot Mundy

Heresbachius: Foure Bookes of Husbandrie
by Barnabe Googe

one morning the castrato, perhaps
a prestidigitator all this time, perhaps
not, pulled a bookmark out of (or from
behind) Whippingcane Sam's ear