Deer ~ No Ch’on-myong (Translated from Korean by Ko Won) Because of your long neck you are a sad animal; always quiet and gentle. Your line must have been of high birth, you have their noble crown. Looking at your image in the water brings back long-lost tales with a nostalgia too sharp to bear. […]
The Wind, One Brilliant Day ~ Antonio Machado (translated by Robert Bly) The wind, one brilliant day, called to my soul with an odor of jasmine. “In return for the odor of my jasmine, I’d like all the odor of your roses.” “I have no roses; all the flowers in my garden are dead.” “Well […]
With You Here at Mertu ~ Anonymous, Egypt, 1567 BCE With you here at Mertu Is like being at Heliopolis already. We return to the tree-filled garden My arms full of flowers. Looking at my reflection in the still pool— My arms full of flowers— I see you creeping on tip-toe To kiss me from […]
If You Want Me to Stay With You ~ Natalie Barney Translated by Patrice Titterington If you want me to stay with you Lower your voice, Pitch it To the intimate moments And let us have a large pot Of hot water with the tea.
Why? ~Mary Webb Why did you come, with your enkindled eyes And mountain-look, across my lower way, And take the vague dishonor from my day By luring me from paltry things, to rise And stand beside you, waiting wistfully The looming of a larger destiny? Why did you with strong fingers fling aside The gates […]
