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I did not kno much I wanted "The World" until my ship finally made its way up the murky Bayou St Jean towards the city of New Orleans, and I saw the black ragged line of the swaainst the luminous sky

The fact that none of our kind had ever penetrated this wilderness excited me and humbled me at the same ti, I’d fallen in love with the low and daypt, and as tilobe

Here the scents were so strong you sreen of the leaves as well as the pink and yellow blosso past the miserable little Place d’Armes and its tiny cathedral, threw into eclipse every other fabled river I’d ever seen

Unnoticed and unchallenged, I explored the raunwale sidewalks and dirty Spanish soldiers lounging about the calaboose I lostand brawling flatboatain to gli, hear the dim roar of the thunder, feel the silky war roofs of the little cottages gleaates of the fine Spanish town houses It flickered behind real lace curtains hung inside freshly washed glass doors I walked aalows that spread out to the railded furniture and enameled bits of wealth and civilization that in this barbaric place seemed priceless and fastidious and even sad

Now and then through the entle and fancy frock coat, his wife in panniers, and a black slave carrying clean slippers for the two high above the flowing mud

I knew that I had coe Garden, and that this was my country and I would ree to remain Whatever I suffered should be lessened in this lawless place, whatever I craved should give rasp

And there were ht in this fetid little paradise when I prayed that in spite of all my secret power, I was somehow kin to every ined, but nification of every huic, revolution and invention, all conspire to distract us from the passion that in one way or another defeats us all

And weary finally of this coo time e sat upon our mother’s knee and each kiss was the perfect consummation of desire What can we do but reach for the eain and again and again