Here is the epigraph John Ashbery chose for his poem "The Picture of Little J. A. in a Prospect of Flowers":(in his first book, Some Trees):
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He was spoilt from childhood by the future, which he mastered rather early and apparently without great difficulty.
— Boris Pasternak (Safe Conduct)
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Ashbery adapted the title of his poem from Andrew Marvell ("The Picture of Little T. C. in a Prospect of Flowers"). I believe he wrote the poem while waiting for Kenneth Koch, who arrived a half hour late for an appointment.
— DL