Rain Light —W.S. Merwin All day the stars watch from long ago my mother said I am going now when you are alone you will be all right whether or not you know you will know look at the old house in the dawn rain all the flowers are forms of water the sun reminds […]
Douce Souvenance —Jessie Redmon Fauset (“Douce Souvenance” translates as “Sweet Memory”) Again, as always, when the shadows fall, In that sweet space between the dark and day, I leave the present and its fretful claims And seek the dim past where my memories stay. I dream an old, forgotten, far-off dream, And think old thoughts […]
It’s a Long Way —William Stanley Braithwaite It’s a long way the sea-winds blow Over the sea-plains blue,— But longer far has my heart to go Before its dreams come true. It’s work we must, and love we must, And do the best we may, And take the hope of dreams in trust To keep […]
Things That Cannot Die ~ Paige Riehl A spoon in a cup of tea. Letters in yellow envelopes, the way a hand pushed lines into the soft paper. Morning laughter. A white shirt draped over her chair. An open window. The air. Call of one blackbird. Silence of another. November. Summer. My love for you, […]
My note: This poem fits well with today being Veterans Day. From ‘A Song for Mankind’ by Nazik al-Mala’ika Emily Drumsta was, as part of her Q&A with ArabLit Quarterly about Nazik al-Mala’ika’s revolutionary romantic poetry, kind enough to share an excerpt of a poem she’s now working on translating: From ‘A Song for Mankind’ […]
