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"Ach, Wien"1803

By Rita DoveUpdated Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008, at 2:30 PM ET

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The truly great cities are never self-conscious:
They have their own music; they go about business.
London surges, Rome bubbles, Paris promenades;
Dresden stands rigid, gazes skyward, afraid.

Vienna canters in a slowly tightening spiral.
Golden facades line the avenues, ring after ring
tracing a curve as tender and maddening
as a smile on the face of a beautiful rival.

You can't escape it; everywhere's a circle.
Feel your knees bend and straighten
as you focus each step. Hum along with it;
succumb to the sway, enter the trance.

Ah, sweet scandal: No one admits it,
but we all know this dance.

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Rita Dove served as poet laureate of the United States from 1993 to 1995; currently she is the poet laureate of Virginia. Among her numerous awards are the 1987 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry and a 1996 National Humanities Medal. Her latest poetry collection, American Smooth, was published in September 2004.

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