Villanelle: Oscar Victorius by T. Wignesan
Lock not the door in the face of your fate The intruder lies dimly in your place Will he die for you were he your true mate Soft the dark wind taps in every haste late Makes your darling come lie by your fire-place Lock not the door in the face of your fate Harsh […]
To the author(s) of Manimekalai by T. Wignesan
“Apart from its popular conception of transmigration, (which is) sometimes almost humouristic, Manimekhalai offers a documentary contribution of immense value, under an easily accessible form, on the philosophical speculations of Ancient India. The cosmology of Sankya, the scientism of Vaisheshika, the logic of Nyaya, the materialism of Lokayata, originally related to the Ajivika tradition, (all […]
To Don Quixote, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s A Don Quichotte by T. Wignesan.
To Don Quixote, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s A Don Quichotte by T. Wignesan. To Don Quixote, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s sonnet : A Don Quichotte (Poem written in March 1861 that I would Verlaine had dedicated to the Grand Dear Old Man of Letters : Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra – with kind permission, of course, […]
To a woman, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s sonnet: A une femme by T. Wignesan.
To a woman, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s sonnet: A une femme by T. Wignesan. To a woman, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s sonnet : A une femme (In this traslation of Paul Verlaine’s sonnet : « A une femme », I have retained the rhyme scheme to the letter, I hope. T. Wignesan) To you these […]
To a person, they say, frigid, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s poem: A celle que l’on fit froide by T. Wignesan
To a person, they say, frigid, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s poem: A celle que l’on fit froide by T. Wignesan To the person, they call, frigid, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s poem : A celle que l’on dit froide (Poem written on September 5, 1889 at Aix-les-Bains, which I found a bit jarring with abrupt exclamations […]
The Virgin Maid of Orleans, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s sonnet: La Pucelle by T. Wignesan.
The Virgin Maid of Orleans, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s sonnet: La Pucelle by T. Wignesan. The Virgin Maid of Orleans, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s La Pucelle To Robert Caze* Even as the blaze crackled around the stake’s pyre, Joan was deafened by the clergy’s brutal chanting, Harsh eyes with hate from all the windows demeaning, […]
The Evening Soup, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s poem: La Soupe du soir by T. Wignesan
The Evening Soup, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s poem: La Soupe du soir by T. Wignesan The Evening Soup, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s La soupe du soir To J.-K. Huysmans (Verlaine here paints a stark tableau of working-class or peasant life shorn of any symbolic or imaginary references. Even if I see no reason to keep […]
Prison Souvenirs, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s poem: Prière by T. Wignesan.
Prison Souvenirs, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s poem: Prière by T. Wignesan. Prison Souvenirs, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s poem : Souvenirs de prison, March 1874* (Verlaine was sentenced to serve a term of two years in prison for having shot his erstwhile lover in the arm/hand, the legendary poet Arthur Rimbaud, ten years his junior, on […]
Prayer, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s poem: Prière by T. Wignesan.
Prayer, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s poem: Prière by T. Wignesan. Prayer, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s poem : Prière (One of Paul Verlaine’s later poems, after having gone through early success as a poet, love, family life, and yet another kind of relationship with Rimbaud, crime, prison, drunkenness, unrequited love, divorce, and intense inner turmoil. T. […]
Post coitum omne animal triste est sive gallus et mulier by T. Wignesan.
Yes, no cockerel who rules the cackling roost Will stomach slander from Latin master; But who will stand aside and let the ghost Of hints slur old motherhood’s register. Manhood must of needs hang its head in pain After all the sweat and toil in loins of love; After millions of squiggly soldiers in vain […]
Plaidoirie for a “Prince” of Jaffna by T. Wignesan
“We learn from history that we learn nothing from history.” George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) Nobel Prize by T. Wignesan Blue blood gushes when heroes die From gory wounds on battlefields Not in castle intrigues when for a lie Crowns use commoners as shields. A royal house does not construct itself After centuries have broken tradition […]
Petrarchan Sonnet: If no one else breathed in this wide, wide world by T. Wignesan
If no one else breathed in this wide, wide world Will one know one exists under this sun Or how will he guess he’s the only one If none thought of him in some other world Will he then climb upon some hill all bold To announce: Where is there another son Not just the […]
Paris, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s poem: Paris by T. Wignesan.
Paris, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s poem: Paris by T. Wignesan. Paris, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s poem : Paris ( For those who may be interested, this poem by Paul Verlaine presents more difficulties than his other rhymed quatrains I have read, but then this may only be a personal feeling. T. Wignesan) Paris cannot lay […]
Nevermore, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s sonnet: Nevermore by T. Wignesan
Nevermore, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s sonnet: Nevermore by T. Wignesan Nevermore, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s sonnet : Nevermore (In this translation of Paul Verlaine’s « Nevermore » , I must say I felt inveigled into adhering to the fixed form by making some unnecessary allowances just in order to respect the rime scheme. It would […]
Master Valluvan, the long-misunderstood Tamil Mentor by T. Wignesan
Poetry In Englishwww.poetry.monster
Limerick: Once a Great Leader with empty pockets by T. Wignesan
Once Great Leader with empty pockets Strode our World distributing nuggets Nuggets Made in China Slick smooth like Godiva Now makes Godiva China rockets. © T. Wignesan – Partis, 2013 Poetry In Englishwww.poetry.monster
Criss-Cross Acrostic*: Ai My Eye ! by T. Wignesan
I Was Saw Eye Eye Saw Was I Eye Was Saw I I Saw Was Eye *Construe as “words” not as “letters”: Lines 1 and 3 read alike reversed; Lines 2 and 4 read alike reversed; likewise vertically and diagonally from up-down or down-up mode. © T. Wignesan – Paris, 2013 Poetry In Englishwww.poetry.monster
Copla Suelta: The One and the Same Dream by T. Wignesan
If you must dream the dream I dream Then the dream comes true when you wake But who dreams first Yet if you wake before the dream Has had time to gestate and make The dream will burst Is there only one dream out there The kind we watch ponder record And hang up high […]
Ballade: In favour of those called Decadents and Symbolists, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s Ballade: En faveur des dénommés Déca by T Wignesan
Ballade: In favour of those called Decadents and Symbolists, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s Ballade: En faveur des dénommés Déca by T Wignesan Ballade : In favour of those called Decadents and Symbolists, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s Ballade en faveur des dénommés Décadents et Symbolistes for Léon Vanier* (The texts I use for my translations are […]
Am I the Assassin or the Undertaker by T. Wignesan
For Palani I He stopped coming our way again He was no where in sight at school Then, after a long absence In the pit of the Chan Ah Tong padang He came and stood at one corner of the field He looked resigned grave A stoic smile hovering over his lips Over his virgin […]
Woman by Tala Bar
I’m as old as the mountain As young as Spring – Always changing, Always constant; I’m as rush as the river, As still as a pool – Always running, Always there – Waiting for you to discover The treasure hidden within. Poetry In Englishwww.poetry.monster
Walk with Me by Tammy L Ames
take a little walk with me a journey built for two and share with me the steps you took that led you to be you talk to me of onions the layers and the tears the sweet relief of sharing grief that bade you drink for years take a little walk with me so i’ll […]
Today’s News by Ted Berrigan
Today’s News by Ted Berrigan My body heavy with poverty (starch) It uses up my sexual energy constantly & I feel constantly crowded On the other hand, One Day in the Afternoon of The World Pervaded my life with a heavy grace today I’ll never smile again Bad Teeth But I’m dancing with tears in […]
The Woman Of His Dreams by Talha Jafri
The old man didn’t know how to love for his tender love was compensated by a loving wife She loved him endlessly while he did the same for her They were perfect in this imperfect world, Two answers to a larger question asked by God But she left him from the face of the Earth, […]
The Soundless Ocean by Tanmoy
It’s a soundless ocean. Little balls of faint light wave and move inside. A circular passage exists, which leads to another revealation. Each year passes like a second in this space, Every moment is useless here. From time to time, only darkness, someone’s flute plays a music, and throws down to the underlying creation. The […]
The Poet by Thom Douglas Carlisle
=== The Poet . . . ( Referencing Moonglow, ) Novels, novellas, writers of documents and manuscripts, Bred of grace and order, What makes a ‘Fellow-of-Letters’ construct for the mind that which the eye Can never see? New passive resident in moments of ancient breathing, held down, bound tightly In this ethereal, far dimension, Forged […]
The Narrative by Talha Jafri
Like a story told from a book Every detail is drawn in to create a larger picture Every high and low in the story are all drawn together so perfectly All the missing pieces to the puzzle all have a loose end that gets tied up And like a story told from the eyes of […]
The Garden by Tammy L. Ames
Wearied by mine anguish Laden with my strife, I begged The Lord for mercy For flowers in my life. The Gardener took heed the call My desperate, mortal plea, And knowing hands, they tilled in love That life might root in me. The barren land He found there My heart, once cracked and dry, Grew […]
The Eclipsed Past by Tholana Ashok Chakravarthy
A long and steep gaze Into the eclipsed past, Provide my thoughts an edge To unroll the bygone past. Paths adorned with flowers Became skyscraper blocks, The playground glitters Sans the delightful brook. Childhood flew into teens Joys became a scarce rainbow, Age changed the directions Flooding me in life’s flow. Some gripping circumstances, Paved […]
The Call of the Crows by Tanmoy
I do not know why the crows are calling in this time of night, as if it is a morning! Now,again their spirits dampen. On the other room, she is an astrologer. She predicts futures,and she gains by showing half accuracy and half control over the mind. But to me,she has never lied. She says […]
The Blind Man by Théophile Gautier
The Blind Man by Théophile Gautier A blind man, on the thoroughfare, Startle-eyed as an owl by day, Piping a dismal little air, Taps here and there, loses his way, Tootles awry his time-old ditty Undauntedly, as by his side Lopes his dog, guides him through the city, Specter diurnal, sleepy-eyed. Days, stark, wash over […]
The Beautiful Heartbreak by Talha Jafri
When the heart aches everyone thinks to the time where the heart achieved so much It’s unable to fathom the fact that it is broken and needs to cured But we carry on through each day routinely Unable to bare the pain, we shield ourselves in the heartbreak We listen to the world’s melody to […]
Snow Flakes by Tala Bar
Gently falls the snow, and Bouncing – My swift, white sisters Dancing Cold, but Melting in the Sun, appearing for A second. Poetry In Englishwww.poetry.monster
Selecting A Reader by Ted Kooser
Selecting A Reader by Ted Kooser First, I would have her be beautiful, and walking carefully up on my poetry at the loneliest moment of an afternoon, her hair still damp at the neck from washing it. She should be wearing a raincoat, an old one, dirty from not having money enough for the cleaners. […]
Seasons by Tala Bar
I don’t believe in good and evil – Cool is the August Moon; I don’t believe in good and evil – On Midsummer noon; I don’t believe in good and evil – Flowery May so cries; I don’t believe in good and evil When my lover dies. Poetry In Englishwww.poetry.monster
Ritual by Tala Bar
From my peak of a mountain I see you, all. God is sad, but Life awakens my laughter And I laugh the sadness of life. In my heart of a mountain A cry is born, in time! The procession passes in slow motion Round and round the mountain; We bury my god, in time! At […]
Passion of Greatness by Terence Ray Robertson
Roses comes in pairs. Left off from the weeds, Cherish yourself cherish your seeds. Left behind, leave a trail to follow the scents of this love. Give in to this love watch it bloom forth. As queens move foward This battle is not yours. ————— The End And that’s the […]
On The Move ‘Man, You Gotta Go. by Thom Gunn
On The Move ‘Man, You Gotta Go. by Thom Gunn The blue jay scuffling in the bushes follows Some hidden purpose, and the gush of birds That spurts across the field, the wheeling swallows, Have nested in the trees and undergrowth. Seeking their instinct, or their pose, or both, One moves with an uncertain violence […]
My Sad Captains by Thom Gunn
My Sad Captains by Thom Gunn One by one they appear in the darkness: a few friends, and a few with historical names. How late they start to shine! but before they fade they stand perfectly embodied, all the past lapping them like a cloak of chaos. They were men who, I thought, lived only […]
Meeting at an Airport by Taha Muhammad Ali
You asked me once, on our way back from the midmorning trip to the spring: “What do you hate, and who do you love?” And I answered, from behind the eyelashes of my surprise, my blood rushing like the shadow cast by a cloud of starlings: “I hate departure . . . I love the […]