Caged Birds by Taigu Ryokan
1. Packing my bags again. I made this trip months before the previous one. C. told me this should be the last time I leave for awhile, but all I can think of is that I should go away more often,
Zazen on Ching-t’ing Mountain by Li Po
1. Was in an editorial meeting, and they were talking about tenses. Someone said, same as the timeframe of disappointment, and just like that I was paying attention. But not here—all of a sudden I was rifling through the rolodex in
Oceans by Juan Ramón Jiménez
Lunch under the sunshine, singing in the afternoon, and conversations in the evening. It has been a good day, and too precious to share at the moment. Maybe tomorrow. Oceans Juan Ramón Jiménez Translated by Robert Bly I have a feeling that my boat has
Circus by Adam Zagajewski
1. I suppose we have days of questions with no answers. 2. Last night I came across a photo of lyrics on a brick wall: I am alive, I am alive, and that is the best that I can do. Coincidentally, that
Poetry Reading by Anna Swir
Things I want to teach myself: how to be transparent but not give away all the mystery, how to be honest but not be overwhelmed with vulnerability, how to be accepting without being defeatist, how to be here and be
Guard Duty by Tomas Tranströmer
1. Listen: if you are writing, then you are a writer. That's it. That's all there really is. It took me a long time to finally embrace the truth of it, but here I am. There is no true measure to
For The Moment by Pierre Reverdy
"This morning the light hits it all / The footlights of my head are lit again / And the room I live in is finally bright"
Reality Demands by Wisława Szymborska
1. Almost all my letters the other day began this way: I am not sure of the geography of things— Some friends I haven't written in awhile. Their previous letters I haven't yet answered. I said: this is a letter I must
Kyrie by Tomas Tranströmer
1. Yesterday was— Perhaps it's better not talk to about it. 2. My manuscript is home now, all the way from Edinburgh. I look at your notes, M., and— You should see me here. Clutching the papers to my chest. 3. I've said it before, and I'll
For Hans Carossa by Rainer Maria Rilke
Been sick the past few days. I want a brownie. Also I am trying not to write you a letter. For Hans Carossa Rainer Maria Rilke Translated by Stephen Mitchell Losing too is still ours; and even forgetting still has a shape in the kingdom