lovers in nature by Raj Arumugam
lovers in nature by Raj Arumugam sweet love come gentle love we’ll stand before the altar of flowers that bloom on the arms of trees and with the fish in the embracing lake; and moss and soft grass on the ground and clouds kissed by the benign sun we’ll have our hands tied with vines […]
Li Po drowns by Raj Arumugam
Li Po drowns by Raj Arumugam Li Po sits drinking wine; he is in his garden below the tree reciting his poems to the night and he sings to the cool air and he sings to the moon and he drinks more in between Li Po walks to the lake and he sings to the […]
how did poetry begin? by Raj Arumugam
how did poetry begin? by Raj Arumugam how did it begin anyway this love of sound and words and rhythm and word-painting? did a bunch of perhaps thirteen men and women gather one night under the star-covered trees and eat pizzas and say: tonight we’ll all not drink sake or soma and we’ll not have […]
Better Be by Raj Napal
Better be a joker than a depressed man Better be a kind and compassionate man than an evil man Better be a good man than a bad man Better live in the now than live in the past Better be courageous and full of balls and fire Than be a wimp living in a straw […]
Clever Stalk by Richard Schiffman
A botanical gardenist of sidewalks. A weedologist with a doctorate in cracks and crannies. A city boy shooting straight from the pavement, the mean street itself, clenched by a thimbleful of dirt, an ecosystem that fit his scrawny seed, from which arose a life, not unconstrained, but free to rise, not far, but far enough […]
The Bistro Styx by Rita Dove
She was thinner, with a mannered gauntness as she paused just inside the double glass doors to survey the room, silvery cape billowing dramatically behind her.What’s this, I thought, lifting a hand until she nodded and started across the parquet; that’s when I saw she was dressed all in gray, from a kittenish cashmere skirt […]
Teach Us To Number Our Days by Rita Dove
In the old neighborhood, each funeral parlor is more elaborate than the last. The alleys smell of cops, pistols bumping their thighs, each chamber steeled with a slim blue bullet. Low-rent balconies stacked to the sky. A boy plays tic-tac-toe on a moon crossed by TV antennae, dreams he has swallowed a blue bean. It […]
Amarene by Rina Ferrarelli
Amarene by Rina Ferrarelli A stain like wine on the fresh Italian bread, and the small wild cherries glazed, shining like garnets. You pause, allow their beauty to fill your eyes. You count on the bread and jam to be fragrant and sweet, and a little bit tart, but the marmellata you like so much […]
Winged And Acid Dark by Robert Hass
A sentence with “dappled shadow” in it. Something not sayable spurting from the morning silence, secret as a thrush. The other man, the officer, who brought onions and wine and sacks of flour, the major with the swollen knee, wanted intelligent conversation afterward. Having no choice, she provided that, too. Potsdamerplatz, May 1945. When the […]
Snowbanks North of the House by Robert Bly
Snowbanks North of the House by Robert Bly Those great sweeps of snow that stop suddenly six feet from the house … Thoughts that go so far. The boy gets out of high school and reads no more books; the son stops calling home. The mother puts down her rolling pin and makes no more […]
The Withdrawal by Robert Lowell
The Withdrawal by Robert Lowell 1 Only today and just for this minute, when the sunslant finds its true angle, you can see yellow and pinkish leaves spangle our gentle, fluffy tree— suddenly the green summer is momentary… Autumn is my favorite season— why does it change clothes and withdraw? This week the house went […]
My iPod by Roland Bastien
My iPod by Roland Bastien My iPod- By Roland Bastien She dressed a fashionable snug plastic cobalt blue robe on which, images around her reflected their pudgy pixels, a girl yesterday performed for invisible satellite cameras on Robson Street macadam. Her hair, red Bordeaux wine coloured her pale yellow face. Her purple lips, dark almond […]
The useless counsellor by Ross D Tyler
He sits down. He is ready. He’s got his ‘counsellors hat on’. But the client seems unhappy, Finding chewing gum she sat on. ‘Sorry about the awful mess’ He says, ‘I haven’t got a bin.’ ‘Would you like a glass of wine, or perhaps a tot of Gin?’ ‘No thanks’ the client quietly declined, ‘Alcohol’s […]
Icicles round a Tree in Dumfriesshire by Ruth Padel
Icicles round a Tree in Dumfriesshire by Ruth Padel We’re talking different kinds of vulnerability here. These icicles aren’t going to last for ever Suspended in the ultra violet rays of a Dumfries sun. But here they hang, a frozen whirligig of lightning, And the famous American sculptor Who scrambles the world with his tripod […]
On The Menu by Graham Rowlands
I’ll eat anything. I mean it. But don’t say you won’t have lunch with me. I won’t drink the soup. I’ll even try your wine in case someone’s trying to poison you— or us. Still, I warn you I’ve eaten an evolution of white bait oysters, prawns in their shells baby octopuses, squid, shark. I’d […]
Falling Action by Ruth Madievsky
Tonight my name is the pearl onion I place in your mouth, the sound a pelvis makes when it opens like a window. Tonight the fly beating its head against the ceiling light is drunk from the wine we opened and forgot about. You turn me over like a poker card, you turn me over […]
Bobsled by Ruth Madievsky
I want my name to amount to more than a bone passed between two dogs. I don’t want catheters or shrink wrap or any more ceremonies of fists. I want each rib in my body to hold the shadow of a lion. I don’t want strychnine. I don’t want to be the peel on the […]
The useless counsellor by Ross D Tyler
He sits down. He is ready. He’s got his ‘counsellors hat on’. But the client seems unhappy, Finding chewing gum she sat on. ‘Sorry about the awful mess’ He says, ‘I haven’t got a bin.’ ‘Would you like a glass of wine, or perhaps a tot of Gin?’ ‘No thanks’ the client quietly declined, ‘Alcohol’s […]
Icicles round a Tree in Dumfriesshire by Ruth Padel
Icicles round a Tree in Dumfriesshire by Ruth Padel We’re talking different kinds of vulnerability here. These icicles aren’t going to last for ever Suspended in the ultra violet rays of a Dumfries sun. But here they hang, a frozen whirligig of lightning, And the famous American sculptor Who scrambles the world with his tripod […]
Written In Early Youth. The Time,–An Autumnal Evening by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
O thou wild fancy, check thy wing! No more Those thin white flakes, those purple clouds explore! Nor there with happy spirits speed thy light Bathed in rich amber-glowing floods of light; Nor in yon gleam, where slow descends the day, With western peasants hail the morning ray! Ah! rather bid the perished pleasures move, […]
Written In Early Youth. The Time,–An Autumnal Evening by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
O thou wild fancy, check thy wing! No more Those thin white flakes, those purple clouds explore! Nor there with happy spirits speed thy light Bathed in rich amber-glowing floods of light; Nor in yon gleam, where slow descends the day, With western peasants hail the morning ray! Ah! rather bid the perished pleasures move, […]
Christabel by Samuel Coleridge
PART I ‘Tis the middle of night by the castle clock And the owls have awakened the crowing cock; Tu-whit!- Tu-whoo! And hark, again! the crowing cock, How drowsily it crew. Sir Leoline, the Baron rich, Hath a toothless mastiff, which From her kennel beneath the rock Maketh answer to the clock, Four for the […]
Dica by Sappho
With flowers fair adorn thy lustrous hair, Dica, amidst thy locks sweet blossoms twine, With thy soft hands, for so a maiden stands Accepted of the gods, whose eyes divine Are turned away from her–though fair as May She waits, but round whose locks no flowers shine. ————— The End And that’s the End of […]
Triolets by Sara Teasdale
Before a lonely shrine Of foam-born Aphrodite, Ungarlanded of vine, Undyed by dripping wine, I brought green bay to twine, And prayed to her, almighty, – And lo, the prayer of mine Was heard of Aphrodite. I sang of answered prayer, And now before the goddess, The maids lay flowers rare, And she has ceased […]
The Wine by Sara Teasdale
I CANNOT die, who drank delight From the cup of the crescent moon, And hungrily as men eat bread, Loved the scented nights of June. The rest may die-but is there not Some shining strange escape for me Who sought in Beauty the bright wine Of immortality? ————— The End And that’s the End of […]
The Shrine by Sara Teasdale
There is no lord within my heart, Left silent as an empty shrine Where rose and myrtle intertwine, Within a place apart. No god is there of carven stone To watch with still approving eyes My thoughts like steady incense rise; I dream and weep alone. But if I keep my altar fair, Some morning […]
The Inn Of Earth by Sara Teasdale
I came to the crowded Inn of Earth, And called for a cup of wine, But the Host went by with averted eye From a thirst as keen as mine. Then I sat down with weariness And asked a bit of bread, But the Host went by with averted eye And never a word he […]
The Giver by Sara Teasdale
You bound strong sandals on my feet, You gave me bread and wine, And sent me under sun and stars, For all the world was mine. Oh, take the sandals off my feet, You know not what you do; For all my world is in your arms, My sun and stars are you. ————— The […]
In A Restaurant by Sara Teasdale
The darkened street was muffled with the snow, The falling flakes had made your shoulders white, And when we found a shelter from the night Its glamor fell upon us like a blow. The clash of dishes and the viol and bow Mingled beneath the fever of the light. The heat was full of savors, […]
In A Restaurant by Sara Teasdale
The darkened street was muffled with the snow, The falling flakes had made your shoulders white, And when we found a shelter from the night Its glamor fell upon us like a blow. The clash of dishes and the viol and bow Mingled beneath the fever of the light. The heat was full of savors, […]
Alchemy by Sara Teasdale
I lift my heart as spring lifts up A yellow daisy to the rain; My heart will be a lovely cup Altho’ it holds but pain. For I shall learn from flower and leaf That color every drop they hold, To change the lifeless wine of grief To living gold. ————— The End And that’s […]
A Winter Bluejay by Sara Teasdale
Crisply the bright snow whispered, Crunching beneath our feet; Behind us as we walked along the parkway, Our shadows danced, Fantastic shapes in vivid blue. Across the lake the skaters Flew to and fro, With sharp turns weaving A frail invisible net. In ecstasy the earth Drank the silver sunlight; In ecstasy the skaters Drank […]
I Remembered by Sara Teasdale
There never was a mood of mine, Gay or heart-broken, luminous or dull, But you could ease me of its fever And give it back to me more beutiful. In many another soul I broke the bread, And drank the wine and played the happy guest, But I was lonely, I remembered you; The heart […]
Ode to H.H. The Nizam Of Hyderabad by Sarojini Naidu
This lyric offering to your name, Who round your jewelled scepter bind The lilies of a poet’s fame; Beneath whose sway concordant dwell The peoples whom your laws embrace, In brotherhood of diverse creeds, And harmony of diverse race: The votaries of the Prophet’s faith, Of whom you are the crown and chief And they, […]
A Rajput Love Song by Sarojini Naidu
O Love! were you a basil-wreath to twine among my tresses, A jewelled clasp of shining gold to bind around my sleeve, O Love! were you the keora’s soul that haunts my silken raiment, A bright, vermilion tassel in the girdles that I weave; O Love! were you the scented fan that lies upon my […]
Half-Man by Satish Verma
In the exodus of emotions I try to flee human fears in earth hour. The sky will not be civil to me. You had become a dark flame like port wine. Who was changing the skin like a snake? I was busy cupping a hemangioma on the face of a moon. Tucked between the breasts a dream fumbles with a cyclone. One more […]
Blemishes by Satish Verma
Without assent I open your book to find your crazy god on mat. Love was a blind bird in a state of agony. Learning to fly. Moon would not reply through aslant door. Something was between us. Here, now a sordid tale breaks the taboo. They were investing on skin. It was a cheap wine in a golden chalice, for a lipless mouth. Satish Verma […]
Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney
Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney Late August, given heavy rain and sun For a full week, the blackberries would ripen. At first, just one, a glossy purple clot Among others, red, green, hard as a knot. You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet Like thickened wine: summer’s blood was in it Leaving stains […]
Attitude: Don Juan in the Shopping Mall by S. K. Kelen
Attitude: Don Juan in the Shopping Mall by S. K. Kelen Let us fly to bounty land…Aqua I Today’s Don Juan could be any of a million characters: Mohammed Hatim a wayward son of the Mujahideen, Doan Huan sporting a Da Nang pedigree, or Mario Lanza living out a serious fetish for muscle cars, Jim […]
America, America by Saadi Youssef
God save America, My home, sweet home! We are not hostages, America, and your soldiers are not God’s soldiers… We are the poor ones, ours is the earth of the drowned gods, the gods of bulls, the gods of fires, the gods of sorrows that intertwine clay and blood in a song… We are the […]