Xie Kitchin---he
calls her "Zee"---who had been, once,
Lew Carroll's choicest
model, inspires the desires
of an aspiring poet
(mocked by his peers due
to his youth) while something
horribly savage
happens elsewhere in London:
sweet love and ghastly terror
Author's Notes/Comments:
Going outside my comfort zone with a doubel tanka about a poem idea. Xie Kitchin's first name was commonly pronounced "Exie." The photographer mentioned is Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland; their falling out and her refusal to pose any more for him is still something of a historic mystery. The young man who loves her is fictional. The idea, not as detailed as even described here, has been with me since Summer, 1975.
