Water Under the Bridgeby Lynn White The Canadian canoe submerged as we got intoo clumsily.The cushions, brought thoughtfully for comfortwere soakedalong with everything else.Then we discovered that we were unable to co-ordinateour paddlingso moving along the narrow canal in a straight linewas impossible.Thus we made slow progress.And then we came to the long tunnel.The signContinue reading “Water Under the Bridge by Lynn White”
Author Archives: poetryandplaces4
On the Altiplano by Robert Coats
On the Altiplanoby Robert Coats Awake early, I saw the green flash as the sunrose behind the Cordillera de Chichas,glare of the Salar de Uyuni.After a simple breakfast we loaded up,my son in back with the three Argentinos,I up front with our Bolivian guide. Higher into the arid Andes on a gravel road,a snow-cloaked volcanoContinue reading “On the Altiplano by Robert Coats”
Recoleta by Lorraine Caputo
Recoletaby Lorraine Caputo In this gated city within the city narrow calles labyrinthineRest eternal souls of doctors & founders business moghuls politicians, presidents & heroes of forgotten wars(Their grumbling yet resounds about, around Evita’s tomb where fresh flowers are lain) Beneath their Gothic spires, domes beyond Doric columns fine sculpture Art Deco reliefsBehind façades of dimmed black granite of façades now crumbled revealing eroded brick eroded mortarBronze honor plaques deep-greened wrought-iron doors rusting & cobweb-woven panes shattered Stained glassContinue reading “Recoleta by Lorraine Caputo”
Ballad of Forgotten Places by Olga Orozco
Ballad of Forgotten Placesby Olga Orozco translated by Mary Crow My most beautiful hiding places,places that best fit my soul’s deepest colors,are made of all that others forgot. They are solitary sites hollowed out in the grass’s caress,in a shadow of wings, in a passing song;regions whose limits swirl with the ghostly carriagesthat transport theContinue reading “Ballad of Forgotten Places by Olga Orozco”
The Narrow Houses of Amsterdam by Megan Sexton
The Narrow Houses of Amsterdamby Megan Sexton To get to them, think in circles,think of the skinny streets of dreams,of paintings before the discovery of perspective,before the first Baedeker was written,roving at dusk, then midnightalong rows of café shelved like antique books;think past the narrow houses of Amsterdam,first spring, then summer, in a toy city,aContinue reading “The Narrow Houses of Amsterdam by Megan Sexton”
Amsterdam (excerpt) by Megan Fernandes
Amsterdam (excerpt)by Megan Fernandes Sometimes the mythologies of a city are true—like when I see a blond man bob for red applesin the street selling records side by side with a black catwound in a cushion, deep in dream. Josh sayshe does not want to go see Anne Frank, that this kind of tourismdepresses him,Continue reading “Amsterdam (excerpt) by Megan Fernandes”
Fragment 9: The Netherlands by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Fragment 9: The Netherlandsby Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) Water and windmills, greenness, Islets green;—Willows whose trunks beside the shadows stoodOf their own higher half, and willowy swamp:—Farmhouses that at anchor seem’d—in the inland skyThe fog-transfixing spiresWater, wide water, greenness and green banks,And water seen— PHOTO: Kinderdijk, Netherlands. Photo by Giuseppe Bandiera on Unsplash. NOTE: KinderdijkContinue reading “Fragment 9: The Netherlands by Samuel Taylor Coleridge”
4. Rare School Bell, Long Walnut Handle by Kelley White
4. Rare School Bell, Long Walnut Handleby Kelley White finely turned, exceptional patina, turnedand flared brass bell with iron clapper,Canterbury, NH, C. 1850, 28” h $2100 The ledger tells how I came to be here.A man, my father, called Charles Thomas,though it may have been Thompson,or Thomson, or Tomas, (this is EldressCora’s hand, surely, recording,Continue reading “4. Rare School Bell, Long Walnut Handle by Kelley White”
Shaker Orchard by Mark Doty
Shaker Orchardby Mark Doty Holding even flowers subjectto the principle of use,the Shakers inventedthe notion of packaged seedsand a steam-powereddistiller for rosewater.They uncluttered roomstill space filledwith Universal Light—white walls, a chest, a chairhung on pegs beside a broomso perfect in its simplicityas to become a pure channel:there was nothing in those linesto impede the flowof theContinue reading “Shaker Orchard by Mark Doty”
A Covered Bridge in Littleton, New Hampshire by Stephanie Burt
A Covered Bridge in Littleton, New Hampshireby Stephanie Burt I can remember when I wanted Xmore than anything ever—for X fill infrom your own childhood [balloon, pencil lead, trading card, shoelaces, a bowor not to have to wear a bow] and now I am moved to action, when I am moved,principally by a memory ofContinue reading “A Covered Bridge in Littleton, New Hampshire by Stephanie Burt”
POETRY and PLACES 