Throwback Thursday: The Poet Declares His Renown, a Poem That Is More Than a Poem by Borges

Illustration by the author

I discovered Borges in the 1971 Fall/Winter issue of Antioch Review. There were six short pieces, each no more than half a page, which were so dense with meaning and profound that one could not help but take notice.

"A Yellow Rose" was the first to capture my fascination. It later appeared in his book Dreamtigers, as does this fantastic piece, "Everything and Nothing."

After you read these, try "The Circular Ruins," which is found in his collection Labyrinths.

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The Poet Declares His Renown

The circle of the sky metes out my glory, 
The libraries of the East contend for my poems, 
Emirs seek me out to fill my mouth with gold, 
Angels already know by heart my latest ghazal. 
My working tools are humiliation and an aguish; 
Would to God I'd been stillborn.

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Special greetings to all my blog followers in the Ukraine.

My favorite Borges-inspired stories are in this small volume: Unremembered Histories

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