THE MAN IN THE MOON AND OTHER POEMS
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Un Ballo in Maschera
They all were masked “in masks outrageous and austere”
except, oh, perhaps just a few who’d refused the mask
and to whom, not surprisingly, no one paid much attention.
The costumiers had had a most difficult time; for the theme
was not historical, musical, literary, societal, or other of
the usual motifs of such a lavish mid-winter’s event,
but the personification of human traits, and the more the better.
There, one saw the artful mask of Guile; there the crafty face of
Avarice, and there, near the flushed puffed up smile of Pride, the
spiteful countenance of Envy. Sloth danced with Greed, and Lust
was everywhere (perhaps the easiest mask of all). Grief sat alone,
while the vincible visage of Fear quailed before Rage, and
here and there one saw the quiet mask of Indifference; and suddenly,
the unadorned faces of those unmasked seemed strikingly “new.”
They danced all night long (or short, if you think of it that way),
and with the dawn they went their separate ways, and then
most, the masked ones mainly, went to sleep, but
slept uneasily, were restless in the thin light of day; and
some, mostly unmasked, didn’t sleep, but went on with their lives,
as if that night of frenetic revelry had never been....
Perhaps Congreve was right: to go naked is the best disguise.
* * *
The Man in the Moon
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About the Book
Politano has this to say about his poetry.
This collection of poems is strictly my own work, without aid or assistance from anyone. I am grateful of course, in a general way, to the professors in the schools, colleges, and universities I have attended, as both student and lecturer, who helped provide me with a breadth and depth of knowledge without which this little book would not have been possible. I am grateful also to the many authors, both good and bad (or merely forgettable), whose work has helped to give me a sense of balance in my poetry. But I am most grateful for the fact that I have lived long enough and participated sufficiently in the business of life to make some sense of certain matters concerning the human condition, about which in my earlier years I was absolutely mystified, and at times even terrified.
Diane Wakowski, author of more than sixteen volumes of poetry and Michigan State University Professor and Writer-in-Residence said this:
Pascal R. Politano’s poetry offers gracefully presented traditional language, [is] well-ordered, rhythmic and concise.... It avoids prosy explanations, poeticized cliches, and the mundane sentimental phrases that can often mar a poem’s possible elegance.
About the Author
Following twenty years as a soldier, Pascal Ronald Politano taught English and political science at the university level in both