Route 684, Southbound Rest Stopby Jessica Greenbaum So you see why it could not have been a more humble moment.If there was any outward sign of regaliaIt might have been the twilight crowning of the day, just then,A perfect moment of dusk, but changing, as a wave doesEven as you admire it. Because the southboundContinue reading “Route 684, Southbound Rest Stop by Jessica Greenbaum”
Tag Archives: poems
All my rains by Rose Mary Boehm
All my rainsby Rose Mary Boehm IWarm rain in the Caribbean,giant bathtub abruptlyturned over by a tropical giant.Rain that hurts. Rain that washesaway topsoil, flattening crab claw,golden trumpet and scorpion orchid,leaving the waxrose gasping for air,fills all dents in the hotel patios.Tennis courts become square lakesof reddish, sandy mud. Every passingcar’s a drencher. Take offContinue reading “All my rains by Rose Mary Boehm”
Streets in Shanghai by Tomas Tranströmer
Streets in Shanghaiby Tomas TranströmerTranslated by Patty Crane 1 The white butterfly in the park is being read by many. I love that cabbage-moth as if it were a fluttering corner of truth itself! At dawn the running crowds set our quiet planet in motion. Then the park fills with people. To each one, eightContinue reading “Streets in Shanghai by Tomas Tranströmer”
Autumn moon by Li Bai
Autumn moon by Li Bai Translated by Ezra Pound The jeweled steps are already quite white with dew, It is so late the dew soaks my gauze stockings, And I let down the crystal curtain And watch the moon through the clear autumn PAINTING: “Pine in moonlight” by Ong Schan Tchow.
Often I Imagine the Earth by Dan Gerber
Often I Imagine the Earthby Dan Gerber Often I imagine the earththrough the eyes of the atoms we’re made of—atoms, peculiaratoms everywhere—no me, no you, no opinions,no beginning, no middle, no end,soaring together like thoseancient Chinese birdshatched miraculously with only one wing,helping each other fly home. IMAGE: “Jian birds” from Sancai Tuhui, an encyclopedia compiledContinue reading “Often I Imagine the Earth by Dan Gerber”
Midnight and Thirty-Two Maharajahs Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India by Graham Wood
Midnight and Thirty-Two MaharajahsJodhpur, Rajasthan, Indiaby Graham Wood For Rosemary Midnight, and thirty-two maharajahslook down from the family pedigree,corralled above you while you sleep.On the mantel, a clock ticks in quietsyncopation with your breathing—tomorrow and our departure edgetheir way towards the dawn.Here, this nightyou’ve notched up fifty yearsserene in sleep below these royal ghosts,oblivious of theirContinue reading “Midnight and Thirty-Two Maharajahs Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India by Graham Wood”
The Jain Bird Hospital in Delhi by William Meredith
The Jain Bird Hospital in Delhiby William Meredith Outside the hotel window, unenlightened pigeonsweave and dive like Stukas on their prey,apparently some tiny insect brother.(In India, the attainment of nonviolenceis considered a proper goal for human beings.)If one of the pigeons should fly into the illusion of my window and survive (the body is noContinue reading “The Jain Bird Hospital in Delhi by William Meredith”
Porch Swing in September by Ted Kooser
Porch Swing in Septemberby Ted Kooser The porch swing hangs fixed in a morning sunthat bleaches its gray slats, its flowered cushionwhose flowers have faded, like those of summer,and a small brown spider has hung out her webon a line between porch post and chainso that no one may swing without breaking it.She is sayingContinue reading “Porch Swing in September by Ted Kooser”
Labor Day by Joseph Millar
Labor Dayby Joseph Millar Even the bosses are sleeping latein the dusty light of September. The parking lot’s empty and no one cares.No one unloads a ladder, steps on the gas or starts up the big machines in the shop,sanding and grinding, cutting and binding. No one lays a flat bead of flux over aContinue reading “Labor Day by Joseph Millar”
State Fair Fireworks, Labor Day by Maryann Corbett
State Fair Fireworks, Labor Dayby Maryann Corbett Look up: blazing chrysanthemums in roseshriek into bloom above the Tilt-a-Whirls,hang for a blink, then die in smoky swirls.They scream revolt at what the body knows:all revels end. We clap and sigh. Then, no—another rose! another peony! break,flame, roar, as though by roaring they might makethe rides whirlContinue reading “State Fair Fireworks, Labor Day by Maryann Corbett”
POETRY and PLACES 