Venice masks

Monday 31 December 2018

Mild is the Parting Year - Walter Savage Landor

Mild is the parting year, and sweet
    The odour of the falling spray;

Saturday 29 December 2018

The Massacre of the Innocents - Vittoria Colonna

Pure innocents, your lord, revealed so late,
  Departs, and leaves you unprotected quite;
  He wills that on your heads the storm should light,
  Averted from His own. Thrice happy fate!

Thursday 27 December 2018

The Magi - Richard Chenevix Trench

Little pomp or earthly state
On His lonely steps might wait;
Few the homages and small,
That the guilty earth at all
Was permitted to accord
To her King and hidden Lord:

Wednesday 26 December 2018

A Hymn on the Nativity of My Saviour - Ben Jonson

I Sing the birth was born to-night,
The Author both of life and light;
    The angels so did sound it.
And like the ravished shepherds said,
Who saw the light and were afraid,
    Yet searched, and true they found it.

Monday 24 December 2018

The Giver of Stars - Amy Lowell

Hold your soul open for my welcoming.
Let the quiet of your spirit bathe me
With its clear and rippled coolness,

Sunday 23 December 2018

The Angels, for the Nativitie of Our Lord - William Drummond of Hawthornden

Run, shepherds, run where Bethlem blest appears;
We bring the best of news, be not dismay’d,

Saturday 22 December 2018

Mosquitoes (Sonnet XV) - George Jehoshaphat Mountain

Among the plagues on earth which God has sent
  Of lighter torment, is the plague of flies:

Friday 21 December 2018

I will forget - Alice Furlong

            I will forget
The moaning of the sea about Aran;
            Green beaches wet,
            And grey rocks barren —
The sea-moan, against rocks that hinder and let!
(I said, and in my saying, remembered yet.)

Thursday 20 December 2018

Mary Magdalen - Bartolomé Leonardo de Argensola

Blessed, yet sinful one, and broken-hearted!
    The crowd are pointing at the thing forlorn,
    In wonder and in scorn!
Thou weepest days of innocence departed;
    Thou weepest, and thy tears have power to move
    The Lord to pity and love.

Wednesday 19 December 2018

The Smoker - Marc-Antoine Girard

Upon a faggot set, with pipe in hand and pot,
Loins 'gainst a chimney-back disconsolately leant,

Tuesday 18 December 2018

The Fly, A Fable - Christian Fürchtegott Gellert

That insects think, as well as speak,
Needs, at this day, small eloquence to show;
Esop, whom even children prize in Greek,
Affirm'd as much, some thousand years ago.

Monday 17 December 2018

I Seek for Rhythmic Whisperings - Zinaida Hippius

I seek for rhythmic whisperings
Where noises bandy—
For life I listen wistfully
In footless banter.

Saturday 15 December 2018

On ascending a hill leading to a convent - Francisco Manuel de Melo

Pause not with lingering foot, O pilgrim, here,
Pierce the deep shadows of the mountain-side;
Firm be thy step, thy heart unknown to fear,
To brighter worlds this thorny path will guide.

Friday 14 December 2018

Life is a Dream - Pedro Calderón de la Barca

We live, while we see the sun,
Where life and dreams are as one;
And living has taught me this,
Man dreams the life that is his,
Until his living is done.

Thursday 13 December 2018

The Evening Star - Claudio Tolomei

Blest star of love, bright Hesperus, whose glow
  Serves for sweet escort through the still of night,
  Of Love the living flame, the friendly light,
  And torch of Venus when she walks below!

Wednesday 12 December 2018

Syrian Mother's Lullaby - Ajan Syrian

Low hangs the morning star,
Arahan arahan!
Dull, like a fading scar,
Arahan,
Lies the Dead Sea.

Tuesday 11 December 2018

Sea Wrack - Moira O’Neill

The wrack was dark an’ shiny where it floated in the sea,
There was no one in the brown boat but only him an’ me;

Sunday 9 December 2018

The Father - Joshua Sylvester

Alpha and Omega, God alone:
  Eloi, My God, the Holy-One;
Whose Power is Omnipotence:
Whose Wisedome is Omni-science:

Saturday 8 December 2018

O Lord, God, of nations - Thomas Bracken

O Lord, God,
of nations and of us too
Listen to us,
Cherish us
Let goodness flourish,
May your blessings flow.
Defend
Aotearoa

Friday 7 December 2018

Kahukeke - Kiri Piahana-Wong

Here at Hikurangi,
the waters pour
down Waitekahu
and into the sea.

Thursday 6 December 2018

A Stolen Glove - Petrarch

Oh lovely hand, thou that my heart dost wring,
  And shut my life up in that narrow space,

Wednesday 5 December 2018

Self-Examination - Charles Heavysege

Open, my heart, thy ruddy valves;
  It is thy master calls;

Tuesday 4 December 2018

The Mother - Nettie Palmer

In the sorrow and the terror of the nations,
In a world shaken through by lamentations,
  Shall I dare know happiness
  That I stitch a baby’s dress?

Sunday 2 December 2018

Gabriel's Message Does Away - Jacobus Finno

Gabriel's message does away
Satan's curse and Satan's sway,
out of darkness brings our Day:
So, behold,
All the gates of heaven unfold.

Friday 30 November 2018

The Two Friends - Jean de La Fontaine

  Axiochus, a handsome youth of old,
And Alcibiades, (both gay and bold,)
So well agreed, they kept a beauteous belle,
With whom by turns they equally would dwell.

Thursday 29 November 2018

The Cosmic Fabric - Yakov Polonsky

This vast web, of Nature’s weaving,
Is God’s garment, so ’tis said.
In that fabric I—a living,
I—a still unbroken thread.

Wednesday 28 November 2018

The Brook - Lopez Maldonado

Laugh of the mountain!—lyre of bird and tree!
Pomp of the meadow! mirror of the morn!

Tuesday 27 November 2018

Could I find a bonnie glen - Anne M’Vicar Grant

Could I find a bonnie glen,
  Warm and calm, warm and calm:
Could I find a bonnie glen,
  Warm and calm;

Monday 26 November 2018

Silent be they - Aulus Gellius

Silent be they, and far from hence remove,
By scenes like ours not likely to improve,

Sunday 25 November 2018

Where, ruin'd Sion, do thy glories lie? - Jean Racine

Where, ruin'd Sion, do thy glories lie?
All lands erewhile thy sacred pomp admir'd ;
Now thou art dust; thy grandeur quite expir'd ;
And nought to us remains save mournful memory.

Saturday 24 November 2018

Far as I journey from my lady fair - Johannes Hadloub

Far as I journey from my lady fair,
I have a messenger who quickly goes,
Morning, and noon, and at the evening’s close:

Friday 23 November 2018

Humanity - Sa’dī

A man found in the desert a thirsty dog,
      which from want of drink was at its last gasp.
The worthy man made a bucket of his cap,
      and twisted his muslin sash into a rope;
Then he girded his waist and extended his arms for service,
      and gave to the feeble dog a sup of water.

Thursday 22 November 2018

O thou wolf, eager for death - Antar

O thou wolf, eager for death,
I have left thee wallowing in dust, and spoiled of life;

Wednesday 21 November 2018

A sang o' Zion - George MacDonald

Ane by ane they gang awa’,
The Getherer gethers grit an smaa;
Ane by ane maks ane an a'!

Tuesday 20 November 2018

The dusky swallows will return - Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer

The dusky swallows will return
To hang their nests beneath thy eaves,
And playing to their nestlings call
As once they called of old.

Monday 19 November 2018

To the Crucified Homeland - Baltrušaitis Jurgis

An orphan's fate, to stray and stumble
On ways of blood and fire, is thine...
Yet in your wordless grief, my humble.
Believing heart, await the Sign...

Sunday 18 November 2018

Saturday 17 November 2018

Impassable bridge - Mzi Mahola

Impassable bridge
I phoned for an MP
A former bosom friend.
His secretary asked,
In connection with what?

Friday 16 November 2018

Marching Men - Marjorie Pickthall

Under the level winter sky
I saw a thousand Christs go by.
They sang an idle song and free
As they went up to calvary.

Thursday 15 November 2018

We lay here in the cold harsh wind - Aaron Ashby

We lay here in the cold harsh wind,
Which whips at our knobby limbs relentlessly

Wednesday 14 November 2018

No coffin, no grave - Jared Angira

He was buried without a coffin
without a grave
the scavengers performed the post-mortem
in the open mortuary
without sterilized knives
in front of the night club

Tuesday 13 November 2018

Youth and Age - Mimnermus

Ah ! fair and lovely bloom the flowers of youth;
    On men and maids they beautifully smile:

Sunday 11 November 2018

Optimism - Alfred Victor Ratcliffe

At last there'll dawn the last of the long year,⁠
⁠Of the long year that seemed to dream no end;
Whose every dawn but turned the world more drear
⁠And slew some hope, or led away some friend.
Or be you dark, or buffeting, or blind,
We care not, Day, but leave not death behind.

Friday 9 November 2018

August 6 - Sankichi Tōge

can we forget that flash?
suddenly 30,000 in the streets disappeared
in the crushed depths of darkness
the shrieks of 50,000 died out

Thursday 8 November 2018

The Spirit - Woodbine Willie

When there ain't no gal to kiss you,
And the postman seems to miss you,
And the fags have skipped an issue,
Carry on.

Wednesday 7 November 2018

Leaving for the front - Alfred Lichtenstein

Before I die, I must just find this rhyme.
Be quiet, my friends, and do not waste my time.

Tuesday 6 November 2018

Foreign Lands - Robert Louis Stevenson

Up into the cherry tree
Who should climb but little me?
I held the trunk with both my hands
And looked abroad on foreign lauds.

Monday 5 November 2018

Saturday 3 November 2018

Farewell at the Moment of Parting - António Agostinho Neto

My mother
(oh black mothers whose children have departed)
you taught me to wait and to hope
as you have done through the disastrous hours

Friday 2 November 2018

Wednesday 31 October 2018

Hallowe'en Failure - Carlyle Smith

Who's dat peekin' in de do'?
    Set mah heart a-beatin'!
Thought I see' a spook for sho
    On mah way to meetin'.
Heerd a rustlin' all aroun',
    Trees all sort o' jiggled;
An' along de frosty groun'
    Funny shadders wriggled.

Tuesday 30 October 2018

Monday 29 October 2018

After a Storm - E. B. Watermeyer

Morning has come upon us, — from the day
Has rolled each darkling cloud, the orient view
Unveils with gorgeous sun, and deep clear blue.

Sunday 28 October 2018

The Worshipper Complains of the Inequality of Lots - Rāmprasād Sen

Let us have a word or two about the problem of suffering
Let us talk about suffering, Tārā, let me express my mind

Saturday 27 October 2018

From the Groom of a Knight in Love - Aristaenetus

Epistle VIII
Echepolus to Melesippus

O! The grace, the art to rein
Fiery courfers round the plain!
See — yon valiant hero ride,
Skill'd with either hand to guide:
See how beautiful, and ftrong!

Friday 26 October 2018

The Garden at Mistrá - Ángelos Sikelianós

Ta-ýgetos! From peaks that gleam all icy with a silver beam,
Amid the breeze that ever blows both sure and soft from melting snows,
In downy golden years of youth, in dawn’s bright flash of flame,
The heavenly twins’ white horses and their matchless chariot came;
Set low between her brothers both a-tiptoe on the beam,
In gown immortal, flowing down, like water, Helen came!

Wednesday 24 October 2018

My Eyes Say - Anonymous

Although I cannot speak,
My eyes say everything.
My eyes see everything.

Tuesday 23 October 2018

Nairobi - Yusuf Adamu

A right-hand driving city
Of very patient drivers
Up in high altitude, devoid of heat

Monday 22 October 2018

The Child and the Candle - Allama Iqbal

O Child with moth-like nature, “How strange that
You keep gazing at the flame of the candle for hours

Wednesday 17 October 2018

Tuesday 16 October 2018

Psalm 121 - King David

I shall raise my eyes to the mountains,
      from where will my help come?
My help is from the Lord,
      the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to falter;
      Your Guardian will not slumber.

Monday 15 October 2018

stolen generation - Lee Emmett

'stolen generation'
is soft term for pain
suffered by indigenous
families ripped apart again

Sunday 14 October 2018

The end of being - Seneca

The end of being is to find out God!
And what is God? A vast almighty Power
Great and unlimited, whose potent will
Brings to achievement whatsoe'er He please.

Saturday 13 October 2018

Legends - Chaman Lall

The bronze of his body
Flashed through the marble hall

Friday 12 October 2018

We laughed when days were merry - Holger Drachmann

We laughed when days were merry
And spun joy’s thread for years,
Now we can shoulder bravely
A sprinkling of tears;

Thursday 11 October 2018

The Boy's Mother speaks - Cathal O’Byrne

If the Three Blisters of Disgrace were on his face,
      And his face is like the sun,
I would efface each trace from its place
      With my kisses, one by one!

Wednesday 10 October 2018

The day returns, my bosom burns - Robert Burns

The day returns, my bosom burns,
    The blissful day we twa did meet:
Tho' winter wild in tempest toil'd,
    Ne'er summer-sun was half sae sweet.

Tuesday 9 October 2018

Life - Emile Verhaeren

To see beauty in all, is to lift our own Soul
Up to loftier heights than do chose who aspire
Through culpable suffering, vanquished desire.
Harsh Reality, dread and ineffable Whole,
Distils her red draught, enough tonic and stern
To intoxicate heads and to make the heart burn.

Monday 8 October 2018

The cities - Gösta Ågren

The cities stand out against
the evening sky like inhabited
ruins. Mankind journeys
towards its goal through the evening’s
lingering ceremony. Europe

Sunday 7 October 2018

Suffer with Humility - Thomas à Kempis

When thou art oppressed with pain,
Think that 'tis no loss, but gain;

Saturday 6 October 2018

There Is Justice In The Jungle - Matur Achuil

In Maasai Mara live the lion and the gazelle
And both have all the rights to life
The lion has the right to kill and eat the gazelle
So that he can continue to live
While the gazelle has the right to run away from the lion
So that he can continue to live
A cut-throat competition with a win-win result
What is subtracted on one end is added on the other
There is justice in the jungle!

Friday 5 October 2018

A Familiar Dance - Bryan Thao Worra

I take you to dance
In your dress of blue.
Santana's black magic woman is playing tonight.

Thursday 4 October 2018

Song - Lenrie Peters

Clawed green-eyed
Feline of night
Palsy-breasted
Selling old boot
On wet pavement

Wednesday 3 October 2018

Chapter VIII - Abdellatif Al Ouarari

O those standing by decorating the squares of Egypt,
Peace .. Peace!
From your throats love blooms,
Ah .. just as fire in the soul and balconies:
As a miracle.

Tuesday 2 October 2018

Adieu! - Eleanor Elizabeth Montgomery

O shepherds! take my crook from me,
For I no longer here can stay!
There comes a whisper from the sea,
Calling my soul from you away;

Monday 1 October 2018

Medea at Night - Apollonius of Rhodes

'T was night, all earth in shadowy silence slept ;
Lone on the deck his watch the sailor kept,
And gazed, where shines Orion's belt on high,
Or the Great Bear bestrides the northern sky.

Thursday 27 September 2018

Gazel - Nejati

Truth this: a lasting home hath yielded ne'er earth's spreading plain;
Scarce e'en an inn where may the caravan for rest remain.

Wednesday 26 September 2018

Nan Pix Pix - Rigoberta González Sul

A piece of land
with trees, mountains and a
beautiful cistern of water

Tuesday 25 September 2018

Hidden Power - Herman Talingapua

Slowly the moon climbs
along its silvery path
over Kumbu mountain.

Monday 24 September 2018

Sunday 23 September 2018

Friday 21 September 2018

Fickle - Jan Andrzej Morsztyn

Sooner will a man the winds ensnare, and sooner still
With tiny bits of sunny rays his pocket fill;

Thursday 20 September 2018

Drained Pond - Petr Borkovec

March flies swarm and spill.
Blistered prints of dragon-flies and frogs.

Wednesday 19 September 2018

Wisdom - Denis V. Davydov

While quaffing the grape's ruby nectar.
All sportingly, laughingly gay,
We determined— I, Silvya, and Hector —
To drive old dame Wisdom away.

Tuesday 18 September 2018

Blow, blow, thou vernal gale! - James Beattie

Blow, blow, thou vernal gale!
Thy balm will not avail
To ease my aching breast;
Though thou the billows smooth,
Thy murmurs cannot soothe
My weary soul to rest.

Monday 17 September 2018

Staring at the distance - Fernando Pessoa

Staring at the distance, mountains with snow and sun,
But the quiet cold is soft already
Which smooths and sharps
The darts of the high sun.

Sunday 16 September 2018

Gazal - Fużūlī

O thou Perfect Being, Source whence wisdom's mysteries arise;
Things, the issue of thine essence, show wherein thy nature lies.

Saturday 15 September 2018

The Basket of Wool - Jaime Saenz

Desiring yet unable, I dreamt myself in this room sleeping and I dreamt myself being able,
making a basket of wool toll like a bell to keep myself sleeping,
and wanting them to come not come, and to make not make a basket of wool toll like a bell prompting a sadness without desire,

Friday 14 September 2018

On Autumn - Shaikh Mahmud Lamiʼi

O sad heart, come, distraction's hour is now high,
The air's cool, 'midst the elds to sit the time nigh.

Thursday 13 September 2018

Triolet - Manuel Gonzalez Prada

Whatever joys might crown this life of ours
will either fail to come or come too late.

Wednesday 12 September 2018

Forced March - Miklós Radnóti

Crazy.  He stumbles, flops, gets up,            and trudges on again.
He moves his ankles and his knees            like one wandering pain,
then sallies forth, as if a wing            lifted him where he went,

Tuesday 11 September 2018

An Ode to Queen Mumbi - Waithira Mbuthia

She wears a crown
In most unconventional place,
Where daughters left
Their names enshrined
In nine stretchmarks:1

Monday 10 September 2018

Zémidjan - Enyam Scandalocks

In this city of Lomé
There are so many drunk guys
That to not see his life in the water
We opt for this modest job

Sunday 9 September 2018

I am a Muslim - Sohrab Sepehri

I am a Muslim:
The rose is my qibla.
The stream my prayer-rug,
the sunlight my clay tablet.

Saturday 8 September 2018

You & I - Mahmood Jamal

You want to speak of War
I want to speak of Peace.

Friday 7 September 2018

The Crazed Hour - Mohammed Dib

The crazed hour roams. Dark
You will recognize her
By her pall of dark hate,
Her pull of wind and cries.

Wednesday 5 September 2018

Revival - Liyou Libsekal

The gate-guard is at special attention
positioned in highland chill
new gold buttons and a collar
hand-twined blanket in a
dejected corner

Tuesday 4 September 2018

Monday 3 September 2018

I met a thief - A.S. Bukenya

On the beach, on the coast,
Under the idle, whispering coconut towers,
Before the growling, foaming, waves,
I met a thief, who guessed I had
An innocent heart for her to steal.

Sunday 2 September 2018

O Jesus, Joy of Angel Choirs - Rabanus Maurus

O Jesus, joy of angel choirs.
Thou Sire and Saviour of the race,
Illume our souls with pure desires,
And lead us heavenward by thy grace.

Friday 31 August 2018

The Court of Dreams - Sung Chih-Wên

Rain from the mountains of Ki-Sho
Fled swiftly with a tearing breeze;

Thursday 30 August 2018

Concerning Midas - John Tzetzes

Midas, the son of Gordias, was a king of the Phrygians,
He worshipped gold beyond the human nature.
According to the myths, he made a bitter wish
So everything he held would be turned into gold.

Wednesday 29 August 2018

Love's Schooling - Bion

I dreamed and lo! the great Cyprian stood before me.
Her fair hand did lead, with head hanging, the little silly Love,
and she said to me: “Pray you, sweet Shepherd,
take and teach me this child to sing and play,”
and so was gone.

Tuesday 28 August 2018

Temper - Nahegat Ben Jaid

Yes, Leila, I swore by the fire of thine eyes
I ne'er could a sweetness unvaried endure;

Monday 27 August 2018

A Missing Ship - Agnes L. Storrie

When thou didst slip thy cable, and with pride
Of windfilled canvas curtsy to the shore

Sunday 26 August 2018

The tiles glittering - Melaia Taucilagi

The tiles glittering glowing clean, with a press the water flows
Hand basin to wash my hands, clean water and perfumed soap

Saturday 25 August 2018

Fair as the Day - August von Platen-Hallermünde

Fair as the day that bodes as fair a morrow,
  With noble brow, with eyes in heaven’s dew,
  Of tender years, and charming as the new,
So found I thee,—so found I, too, my sorrow.

Friday 24 August 2018

Monster - Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner

Sometimes I wonder if Marshallese women are the chosen ones.

I wonder if someone selected us from a stack. Drew us out slow. Methodical. Then, issued the order:

Give birth to nightmares. Show the world what happens. When the sun explodes inside you.

Tuesday 21 August 2018

Monday 20 August 2018

Morning Bell - Carl Spitteler

It seemed as though the dawn would never come
To save me from the night's delirium,
Those hells of thought I wandered in - who schooled
My brain at other times, and strictly ruled
Its every motion. Fever now was king;

Sunday 19 August 2018

My heart seeth Thee - Yehudah HaLevi

My thoughts awaken me with Thy name
And set Thy mercies before me—

Saturday 18 August 2018

Paradise (Canto 1) - Dante Alighieri

The glory of Him who moves all things
pervades the universe and shines
in one part more and in another less.

Friday 17 August 2018

Love, the Wizard - Lilian Wooster Greaves

Love stole in to a fair child dreaming
  ’Mid birds and butterflies—

Thursday 16 August 2018

The Aerial City - Afanasy Afanasevich Fet

At daybreak there spread through the heavens
Pale clouds like a turreted town:
The cupolas golden, fantastic,
White roofs and white walls shining down.

Wednesday 15 August 2018

We go no more to the Forest - Mary Colborne-Veel

We go no more to the forest,
The rimus are all cut down.
They are built into roof and sill and wall,
Into floors that thrill to the last foot-fall
In the dancing of the town.

Tuesday 14 August 2018

Beyond the Rhine - Jan van Broekhuizen

Beyond the Rhine, in solitude and snows,
  Through every starless night and cheerless day,
  I muse, and waste myself in thought away,

Monday 13 August 2018

It Is a Fearful Night - Curvo Semedo

“It is a fearful night; a feeble glare
  Streams from the sick moon in the o’erclouded sky;

Sunday 12 August 2018

St. Stephen (December 26th) - Adam of St. Victor

Lo! a rose, new odour shedding,
Bright with beauty, all exceeding,
From the halls of heaven,
Out of Egypt is invited,
And to follow Christ delighted,
After witness given.

Saturday 11 August 2018

Canzone - Cino da Pistoia

  The loveliness, the glances soft and clear
Of sweetest eyes that e’er unveiled their glow,
Lost unto me, make this my life appear
So grievous that in heaviness I go;
Instead of the gay thoughts I used to know,
Because of love for her,
Now at my heart’s core stir
Thoughts that of Death are born
By reason of this parting whence I mourn.

Friday 10 August 2018

The Song of the Foolish Bees - Martinus Nijhoff

A scent of higher honey
embittered us the flowers,
a scent of higher honey
has driven us away.

Thursday 9 August 2018

The Lion's Council of State - Ivan Khemnitzer

A Lion held a court for state affairs.
Why? That is not your business, sir — 'twas theirs.
He called the elephants for councilors. Still
The council-board was incomplete,
And the king deemed it fit
With asses all the vacancies to fill.

Wednesday 8 August 2018

Infinite was the time - Leonidas

O man, infinite was the time before you came to the light,
and infinite will be the time to come in Hades.

Monday 6 August 2018

The Loves of Shirin - Sheykhi

The spot at which did King Khusrev Perviz light
Was e'en the ruined dwelling of that moon bright.
Whilst wand'ring on, he comes upon that parterre,
As on he strolls, it opes before his eyes fair.

Saturday 4 August 2018

The Willing Mistress - Aphra Behn

Amyntas led me to a Grove,
  Where all the Trees did shade us;
The Sun itself, though it had Strove,
  It could not have betray’d us:
The place secur’d from humane Eyes,
  No other fear allows,
But when the Winds that gently rise,
  Do Kiss the yielding Boughs.

Friday 3 August 2018

The Seed is in Me - José Craveirinha

Dead or living
the seed is in me
in the universal whiteness of my bones

Thursday 2 August 2018

Ode XXXVII: The Death of Cleopatra - Horace

Drink, comrades, drink; give loose to mirth!
With joyous footstep beat the earth,
  And spread before the War-God’s shrine
  The Salian feast1, the sacrificial wine.

Wednesday 1 August 2018

The Bridal Chamber - Julius Mosen

Glowing waxen tapers tremble,
Calmly sleeps the fairest maid
Under flowers, wreaths, and spangles,
Gifts by fond affection laid.

Tuesday 31 July 2018

St. Simeon Stylites - Enrico Nencione

On the white head of the old man divine
The sun in torrents falls—the August sun—
In the fields the yellow grasses smoke with heat:
He from his place upon the pillar’s height
A living statute stands, an iron form,
Yet animated by the breath of God.

Monday 30 July 2018

It is the coming of the night - Christopher Brennan

It is the coming of the night:
they gather to their hearths; they light
the scanty flame, and draw the chair
closer, and warmth enchants their care.

Sunday 29 July 2018

Vesper Hymn for All Saints - Rabanus Maurus

O soothe thy servants' woes, and bring
Our souls to thee, most clement King;
We seek before thy mercy seat
The Virgin's intercession sweet.

Saturday 28 July 2018

One who feels others' grief - Narsinh Mehta

One who feels others' grief as his own,
Who obliges others in distress
Without being swollen with pride,
He alone can be called a Vaishnava!

Sunday 22 July 2018

The Unity of God - Panatattu

Into the bosom of the one great sea
Flow streams that come from hills on every side.
Their names are various as their springs.
And thus in every land do men bow down
To one great God, though known by many names.
This mighty Being we would worship now.

Saturday 21 July 2018

The Moon - Elena Văcărescu

A green, green tree in my courtyard stands.
The sunshine loves it, the breezes rock it;
But when snow hath fallen, the tree forgetteth
That April once was here.

Friday 20 July 2018

Heart, my Heart - Heinrich Heine

Heart, my heart, no longer mourn,
Wail no more the weary days,
Spring will freshen all the ways
By the winter made forlorn.

Thursday 19 July 2018

Prologue, addressed to Tullus - Sextus Propertius

Cynthia was the first. She caught me with her eyes, a fool
who had never before been touched by desires.
I really hung my head in shame
when Love pressed down on it with his feet.
He taught me to hate chaste girls!
He was cruel when he told me to live without plan.
It's already been a whole year that the frenzy hasn't stopped.
Even now, the gods are against me.

Wednesday 18 July 2018

Kiss III - Joannes Secundus

“One Kiss, enchanting Maid!" (I cry'd;)—
One little Kiss! and then adieu!
Your lips, with luscious crimson dyed,
To mine with trembling rapture flew:

Tuesday 17 July 2018

Mnasidika's breasts - Pierre Louÿs

Carefully, with one hand, she opened her tunic and tendered me her breasts, warm and sweet, just as one offers the goddess a pair of living turtle-doves.

Monday 16 July 2018

The Flute - Pierre Louÿs

For the Hyacinthian day he gave me some Panic pipes, of measured reeds well-cut, bound each to each with soft white wax, sweet as honey to my lips.

Sunday 15 July 2018

Ye glooms of night! - Aurelius Clemens Prudentius

Ye glooms of night! ye clouds and shade!
O'er earth in dim confusion spread!
The light is here! behold the dawn!
Christ cometh; haste ye and begone!

Saturday 14 July 2018

Ballata. Concerning a Shepherd-maid - Guido Cavalcanti

Within a copse I met a shepherd-maid,
  More fair, I said, than any star to see.

Friday 13 July 2018

Nocturne - Delmira Agustini

Lake of your soul, gem-mounted in night,
you would tell a thread of crystal and calm
spun by the huge spiders of wakeful evening.

Thursday 12 July 2018

The creation of the Universe - Óengus the Culdee

My own King, King of the pure heavens,
without pride, without contention,
who didst create the folded world,
my King ever-living, ever victorious.

Wednesday 11 July 2018

The Pleasing Constraint - Aristaenetus

In a snug little court as I stood t’ other day,
And caroll’d the loitering minutes away;
Came a brace of fair nymphs, with such beautiful faces,
That they yielded in number alone to the Graces:

Tuesday 10 July 2018

Under One Small Star - Wislawa Szymborska

My apologies to chance for calling it necessity.
My apologies to necessity if I'm mistaken, after all.
Please, don't be angry, happiness, that I take you as my due.

Monday 9 July 2018

On an eclipse of the sun - Archilochus

Naught, now, can pass belief; in Nature's ways
No strange anomaly our wonder raise.

Sunday 8 July 2018

The deer's cry - St. Patrick

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation.

Saturday 7 July 2018

The Bear, the Ape, and the Pig - Tomás Iriarte

A bear, whose dancing help’d to gain
     His own and owner’s livelihood,
And whose success had made him vain
     As any dandy, stood
Upon his hinder legs to try
     The figure of a new quadrille,

Friday 6 July 2018

Sleep - Baltasar del Alcázar

Sleep is no servant of the will;
    It has caprices of its own;
    When most pursued, ’tis swiftly gone;
When courted least, it lingers still.
With its vagaries long perplext,
    I turned and turned my restless sconce,
    Till, one fine night, I thought at once
I’d master it. So hear my text.

Thursday 5 July 2018

Madrigal I - Torquato Tasso

Once a mosquito came a-buzzing round
The happy place
Where in his mother’s lap Love lay sleep-bound

Wednesday 4 July 2018

Grief - Francesco Redi

Sweet Ladies, who to Love your hearts incline,
  And hand in hand walk down compassion’s way,
  Pause here an hour and weep with me and say
If ever there was sorrow like to mine!

Tuesday 3 July 2018

Is this a dagger which I see before me - William Shakespeare

Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee:—
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.

Monday 2 July 2018

Liberty - Mikael Ghazarian Nalbandian

When God, who is forever free,
Breathed life into my earthly frame, —
From that first day, by His free will
When I a living soul became, —
A babe upon my mother’s, breast,
Ere power of speech was given to me,
Even then I stretched my feeble arms
Forth to embrace thee, Liberty!

Sunday 1 July 2018

Once again I am overwhelmed - Imam Ahmad Raza

Once again I am overwhelmed by the ecstasies of Arabia,
My heart is again bewitched by the charms of Arabia.

Wednesday 27 June 2018

Cradles - René-François Sully-Prudhomme

Moored at the quay, the great vessels
That quietly bend to the swell,
Pay no regard to the cradles
Rocked by feminine hands.

Tuesday 26 June 2018

Monday 25 June 2018

The Princess - Björnstjerne Björnson

The princess sat lone in her maiden bower,
The lad blew his horn at the foot of the tower.
“Why playest thou alway? Be silent, I pray,
It fetters my thoughts that would flee far away,
          As the sun goes down.”

Sunday 24 June 2018

Trinity - Adam of St. Victor

To the Trine God, not Gods three,
       The Trinity in Unity,
Let the Church now bow the knee!
       All creation
       Indication,
Clear and lucid, gives of a Trinity.

Friday 22 June 2018

Love the runaway - Meleager of Gadara

I make hue and cry after wild Love;
for now, even now in the morning dusk,
he flew away from his bed and was gone.

Thursday 21 June 2018

The Land of Story-books - Robert Louis Stevenson

At evening when the lamp is lit,
Around the fire my parents sit;
They sit at home and talk and sing,
And do not play at anything.

Wednesday 20 June 2018

The Vowels: An Enigma - Jonathan Swift

We are little airy creatures,
All of different voice and features;

Tuesday 19 June 2018

The Djinns - Victor Hugo

              Town, tower,
              Shore, deep,
              Where lower
              Cliffs steep;
              Waves gray,
              Where play
              Winds gay,—
              All sleep.

Monday 18 June 2018

Time’s Revenge - Agathias Scholasticus

She, who but late in beauty’s flower was seen,
Proud of her auburn curls and noble mien—

Sunday 17 June 2018

The cherubic pilgrim - Johann Scheffler

The soul wherein God dwells, —
What church could holier be? —
Becomes a walking tent
Of heavenly majesty.

Saturday 16 June 2018

The Welcome - Farīd ud-Dīn ʿAṭṭār

One night Shah Mahmúd, who had been of late
Somewhat distempered with Affairs of State,
Strolled through the Streets disguised, as wont to do—
And coming to the Baths, there on the Flue
Saw the poor Fellow who the Furnace fed
Sitting beside his Water-jug and Bread.

Friday 15 June 2018

The Children’s Church - Karl von Gerock

The bells of the churches are ringing,—
  Papa and mamma have both gone,—
And three little children sit singing
  Together this still Sunday morn.

Thursday 14 June 2018

Kumudvati's wedding - Kālidāsa

I have no king; my towers and terraces
Crumble and fall; my walls are overthrown;
As when the ugly winds of evening seize
The rack of clouds in helpless darkness blown.

Wednesday 13 June 2018

Frithiof Saga, Canto XI: Frithiof at the Court of Angantyr - Esaias Tegnér

’Tis time to tell how Angantyr,
  The earl, was seated then
High in his hall of stately fir,
  Carousing with his men.
Thence he surveyed, in merry mood,
  The day-car as it rolled;
Now cleaving through the purple flood,
  All like a swan of gold.

Monday 11 June 2018

At the wood's edge - Eduard Mörike

At the wood's edge I can lie for long afternoons
In the grass listening to the cuckoo;
It seems to lull the whole valley to sleep
With peaceful harmony of its laments.

Sunday 10 June 2018

O spotless King - Pope Urban V

O spotless King, sweet Jesus,
For me, a sinner, slain,
Grant we may raise eternal praise
To thy eternal reign.

Friday 8 June 2018

The Lament of Maisun, the Bedouin wife of Mu‘āwiya - Maysun bint Bahdal

I give thee all the treacherous brightness
Of glittering robes which grace the fair,
Then give me back my young heart's lightness
And simple vest of Camel's hair.

Thursday 7 June 2018

Intoxication - Li Bai

What is life, after all, but a dream,
And why should such pother be made?
Better far to be tipsy, I deem,
And doze all day long in the shade.

Wednesday 6 June 2018

The Soldier - Nikolai Nekrasov

Then up there comes a veteran.
With medals on his breast;
He scarcely lives, but yet he strives
To drink with all the rest.

Tuesday 5 June 2018

from The Twelfth Assembly (Of Damsacus) - Al Hariri

I cling to journeying, I cross deserts, I loathe pride that I may cull
joy:

And I plunge into floods, and tame steeds that I may draw the trains
of pleasure and delight.

Monday 4 June 2018

Yesterday we dreamed - Michael Theophilus Dom

It was not so long ago
Hardly more than a lifetime or so
When our nation was so young
And our history had just begun.

Sunday 3 June 2018

The month of Jyeshtha (May/June) - Keshava Dasa

Air, water, ether, earth and fire —
all these five elements become one:

Friday 1 June 2018

Birżebbuġa 2014 - Immanuel Mifsud

I undo my laces; let everything fall.
You quickly close your eyes or look somewhere afar.
Somewhere out through the window
strange images drift by
like boats midsea, rolling, heavy with cries
of tall men who have never seen such waters before;
women in their eighth month, navels pointing ashore;
children silenced, whining babies; droplets of milk left — no more.

Friday 25 May 2018

The Keepsake - Yone Noguchi

Love faded away, the keepsake she left me is these children, three or four.
I eat, I sleep . . . it's all the same today as yesterday.
The clock strikes one at midnight,
I spring up, I straighten a quilt over the sleeping children by my side.

Wednesday 23 May 2018

Hymns to the Night (no. 4) - Novalis

Over I journey
And for each pain
A pleasant sting only
Shall one day remain.

Tuesday 22 May 2018

Mortal Though I Be - Claudius Ptolemy

Mortal though I be, yea ephemeral, if but a moment
  I gaze up to the night’s starry domain of heaven,

Monday 21 May 2018

Beneath the Canopy of the Skies - Baba Tahir

Beneath the canopy of the skies roam I night and day:
My home is in the desert by night and day.
  No sickness troubleth me nor silent pain tormenteth;
One thing I know, that I sorrow night and day.

Sunday 20 May 2018

The love of God - Bernard Rascas

All things that are on earth shall wholly pass away,
Except the love of God, which shall live and last for aye.

Friday 11 May 2018

The Dream Wife - Kajetan Węgierski

Strangely 'wildered must I seem;
I was married — in a dream.
Oh, the ecstasy of bliss!
Brother, what a joy is this!

Thursday 10 May 2018

A Confession - Agnes Louise Storrie

You did not know, - how could you, dear, -
How much you stood for? Life in you
Retained its touch of Eden dew,

Wednesday 9 May 2018

Fodder-Time - Carmen Sylva

How sweet the manger smells! The cows all listen
  With outstretched necks, and with impatient lowing;
  They greet the clover, their content now showing—
And how they lick their noses till they glisten!

Friday 4 May 2018

Hatikvah—A Song of Hope - Naphtali Herz Imber

O while within a Jewish breast
  Beats true a Jewish heart,
And Jewish glances turning East
  To Zion fondly dart,—

Thursday 3 May 2018

The Old Place - Blanche Edith Baughan

So the last day’s come at last, the close of my fifteen year—
The end of the hope, an’ the struggles, an’ messes I’ve put in here.
All of the shearings over, the final mustering done,—
Eleven hundred an’ fifty for the incoming man, near on.
Over five thousand I drove ’em, mob by mob, down the coast;
Eleven-fifty in fifteen year…it isn’t much of a boast.

Wednesday 2 May 2018

The Indian’s Grave - George Jehoshaphat Mountain

Bright are the heavens, the narrow bay serene;
  No sound is heard within the shelter’d place,
Save some sweet whisper of the pines—nor seen
  Of restless man, nor of his works, a trace;

Monday 30 April 2018

A Moral Man - Nikolai Nekrasov

A strictly moral man have I been ever,
And never injured anybody—never.
I lent my friend a sum he could not pay;
I jogged his memory in a friendly way,
Then took the law of him th’ affair to end;
The law to prison sent my worthy friend.

Saturday 28 April 2018

Friendship - Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft

This earth, embossed with mountains, laced with streams,
  Starred with fair cities ringed about with towers,

Wednesday 25 April 2018

To Lesbia - Joannes Secundus

When beauteous Lesbia fires my melting soul
(She who the torch and bow from Cupid stole)
By many a smile, by many an ardent kiss,
And with her teeth imprints the tell-tale bliss;

Sunday 22 April 2018

God of the World (A Sabbath Hymn) - Israel ben Moses Najara

God of the World, eternity’s sole Lord!
King over kings, be now thy Name adored!
Blessed are we to whom thou dost accord
  This gladsome time thy wondrous ways to scan!

Saturday 21 April 2018

Friday 20 April 2018

The King’s Welcome to Thingvall - Matthías Jochumsson

With strong foot tread the holy ground,
Our snow-land’s King, the lofty-hearted,
Who from thy royal home hast parted,
To greet these hills that guard us round!
Our Freedom’s scroll thy hand hath lent us,
The first of kings whom God has sent us,
Hail! welcome to our country’s heart!

Thursday 19 April 2018

Captive Knight - Mikhail Lermontov

Silent I sit by the prison’s high window,
Where through the bars the blue heavens are breaking.
Flecks in the azure, the free birds are playing;
Watching them fly there, my shamed heart is aching.

Wednesday 18 April 2018

Conventional Lies of Our Civilization - Max Nordau

The modern day labourer is more wretched than the slave of former times,
for he is fed by no master nor any one else,

Tuesday 17 April 2018

The Gods in council sit (The Odyssey, Book I) - Homer

The Gods in council sit, to call
Ulysses from Calypso's thrall,
And order their high pleasures thus:

Monday 16 April 2018

Sonnet - Rachel Morpurgo

My soul surcharged with grief now loud complains,
And fears upon my spirit heavily weigh,
“Thy poem we have heard,” the people say,
“Who like to thee can sing melodious strains?”

Sunday 15 April 2018

Brief life is here our portion - Bernard of Cluny

Breif life is here our portion;
  Brief sorrow, short-liv’d care;
The life that knows no ending,
  The tearless life, is there.

Saturday 14 April 2018

Sodger Laddie - Robert Burns

I once was a maid, tho’ I cannot tell when,
An’ still my delight is in proper young men;
Some one of a troop of dragoons was my daddie,
No wonder I’m fond of a sodger laddie.

Friday 13 April 2018

Night-fall - Joaõ Xavier de Matos

The sun has set, with duskiest shades imbued
  The lingering daylight slowly dies away,
  And Night’s dark fingers have already strewed
  The air with cheerless clouds, opaque and gray;

Thursday 12 April 2018

Wednesday 11 April 2018

Tuesday 10 April 2018

I feel that I have chosen everything - Vasily Grossman

I feel that I have chosen everything -
The time and place, the day I came into the world;

Monday 9 April 2018

Never to Know - Isa (Craig) Knox

One within in a crimson glow,
        Silently sitting;
One without on the falling snow,
        Wearily flitting;
        Never to know
That one looked out with yearning sighs,
While one looked in with wistful eyes,
        And went unwitting.

Sunday 8 April 2018

Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle - Venantius Fortunatus

Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle;
Sing the ending of the fray.
Now above the cross, the trophy,
Sound the loud triumphant lay:
Tell how Christ, the world's redeemer,
As a victim won the day.

Saturday 7 April 2018

The Sixty-second Birthday of Swinburne - Charles Edward Russell

    Prophet, whose straining eyes
Watch ever eastward while the slow stars fade,
Hast thou beheld the hope-tinged morning rise
Far off on alien seas, in other skies?
Or hast thou from thy sky-bound station made
On lonely peak-tops far away, aloft,
    The footsteps heard that oft
  Have sounded in thy visions soft
    And distant, but as clear
As woodman’s stroke across the dying year?

Thursday 5 April 2018

To His Wife - Daniel Henry Deniehy

O pure of soul, and fond and deep of heart
  For those who darkened be,
Lift up thy holy voice, at morn and eve,
  And pray for me,—

Wednesday 4 April 2018

The Shores of Troy - Quintus Smyrnaeus

As rose in heaven the morning clear and bright,
Ida’s long towery ridge appeared in sight;

Tuesday 3 April 2018

The Lusiad (extract from Book X: The Maldives) - Luís Vas de Camões

Beneath the spreading wings of purple morn,
Behold what isles these glistening seas adorn!
Mid hundreds yet unnamed, Ternat behold;
By day her hills in pitchy clouds enrolled,
By night like rolling waves the sheets of fire
Blaze o’er the seas, and high to heaven aspire.

Monday 2 April 2018

Eastergram - Steve Turner

Calvary is a rubbish tip close by,
not a green hill far away.

Sunday 1 April 2018

Hail! high festival day - Venantius Fortunatus

Hail! high festival day whose rites are revered through the ages;
Now is the conquering Christ risen from gloom to the stars;
Hail, high festival day, whose rites are revered through the ages;

Saturday 31 March 2018

Sonnet to Spring - Charles Tompson

I.
Gay blooming goddess of the flow'ry year,
Enchanting Spring, thou youth of nature, hail!
What artless beauties in thy train appear,
What balmy fragrance swells th' ambrosial gale,

Friday 30 March 2018

The Dog in Kivulu - Ralph Bitamazire

The dog in Kivulu,
Thin, bony and yawning;
The dog in Kivulu,
Panting and squatting
Like its master.

Thursday 29 March 2018

Desolation - Kao-Shih

I
There was a King of Liang—a king of wondrous might—
Who kept an open palace, where music charmed the night—

Wednesday 28 March 2018

You - O'tega Oghenechovwen

'You'
- For a brother, James Ojiyovwi Omotor
On the "Caucasian" of his birthday!

You,
With your stern but comrade eyes
You looked up

Monday 26 March 2018

When we tell - Loa Niumeitolu

I know English was brought
by White people to our country.

Sunday 25 March 2018

Since I met You, I'm not afraid - Frances Angermayer

Look, God, I have never spoken to You,
But now I want to say, "How do you do?"
You see, God, they told me You didn't exist.
And like a fool I believed all this.

Saturday 24 March 2018

The Gazelle Incident - Jack Lahui

Due north-east from here,
in the land of tremors and eruptions,
the police stood like the Spartans,

Friday 23 March 2018

White Shame - Adel Khozam

The sentence was uttered in its entirety
Why did you not believe it
The sentence?

Thursday 22 March 2018

An Alien Land - Muhammad Salih

They invite me to breakfast in another language.
Like a blind man in the streets of the city
They lead me in only three or four words of another language.

Wednesday 21 March 2018

Humankind - Magtymguly Pyragy

Whether asleep or awake, he will always keep in his mind,
Whatever work is chosen by humankind,
The grief of being poor won’t make you depressed,
If a man becomes a beggar wishing to have a wife.

Tuesday 20 March 2018

Monday 19 March 2018

They Came Tonight - Léon Damas

They came the night the
tom
tom
spun from
rhythm
to
rhythm

Sunday 18 March 2018

Day-to-day - Carmen González Huguet

“Yet we want to return to the place we love.
And if God lets us live, we’ll return to eat
corn-on-the-cob fresh from the field,
if we are given the chance…”
Salvadoran refugee, April 1986

And of course,
despite the bloodshed,
life went on
tying its laces.

Saturday 17 March 2018

I've gone - I come - Trefossa

if the dry season wind starts singing
in Mahogany Street:
- Creole, how?
I'll answer:
- here am I
- granny's bench has been set ready
- once upon a time ... once upon a time ...

Thursday 15 March 2018

War, war, war - Patricia Mercy

War, war, war
Who are you and where do you come from?

Tuesday 13 March 2018

To my Mother - Camara Laye

Black woman, African woman, O mother, I think of you …
O Dâman, O mother,
who carried me on your back, who nursed me,

Sunday 11 March 2018

The Faithful Soul - Hildebert of Lavardin

With changeless faith the turtle-dove
To one sole mate gives all her love;
With him alone, in union sweet,
Both night and day her pulses beat.

Saturday 10 March 2018

No, Poetry - Amilcar Cabral

No, Poetry
Do not hide within the inscrutability of my soul

Friday 9 March 2018

Children of the Sun and the Wind - Mohammed Ebnu

We still live
on the brink of nothingness,
between the north and south of the seasons

Thursday 8 March 2018

Gorée Baobab Island - Suzanne Tanella Boni

(1)
perhaps happiness is so far away
invisible among the tamarind leaves
when my hand brushes the fruit
to share them with spirits laughing at man’s
cruelty to man

Wednesday 7 March 2018

Shame and Fear - Ndouna Depenaud

It's raining and it's sunny and the ghosts are
babbling twins behind the trees.
Grandfather, who knows how to make you laugh.
You whose beard blooms with anecdotes.
Tell us a beautiful story, do you want?

Tuesday 6 March 2018

Have you heard it tell? - Fidelia Nimmons

Have you heard it tell that:
His Majesty Oba O’s country
Was abundantly rich in,
All manner of natural resources,
Rubber, cocoa, cotton, palm kernel and more.

Monday 5 March 2018

Hope to the end - Joseph Kokou Koffigoh

I saw everything that day: the lightning in the sky,
Armed by tyrant explosives and lightning;
The bursts of hope struck at the heavy weapon;
The distraught hope calling on the Lord.

Sunday 4 March 2018

How great, how beautiful that Sabbath rest - Peter Abelard

How great, how beautiful that Sabbath rest,
Kept in the court eternal of the blest!
Repose for weary souls! for brave reward!
For there our all in all shall be the Lord.

Sunday 25 February 2018

Pone Luctum Magdalena - Adam of St. Victor

Still thy sorrow, Magdalena!
      Wipe the tear-drops from thine eyes
Not at Simon's board thou kneelest,
      Pouring thy repentant sighs:
All with thy glad heart rejoices;
All things sing with happy voices:
      Hallelujah!

Friday 23 February 2018

Head Ransom (excerpt) - Snorri Sturluson

West over water I fared
bearing poetry's waves to the shore
of the war-god's heart;

Friday 9 February 2018

The Forty Mile Bush - Austral

Fan in the forest’s aromatic shade
     We rode, one afternoon of golden ease;
The long road ran through sunshine and through shade,
     Lulled by the somnolent stories of the trees.

Thursday 8 February 2018

How frail are riches and their joys - Hatim al-Tai

How frail are riches and their joys?
Morn builds the heap which eve destroys;
Yet can they leave one sure delight—
The thought that we've employ'd them right.

Wednesday 7 February 2018

Toki-no-Ge (Satori poem) - Muso Soseki

Year after year
      I dug in the earth
            looking for the blue of heaven

Tuesday 6 February 2018

Love your children - Michael Theophilus Dom

Listen my friend, love your children.
Not only their birth, but who being;
Not only their lives, but how to;
Not only their laughter, but why so;
Not only their walking, but where to;

Sunday 4 February 2018

Glory, and honour, and laud be to Thee, King - Theodulf of Orléans

Glory, and honour, and laud be to Thee, King, Christ the Redeemer!
Children before whose steps raised their hosannas of praise.
Glory, and honour, and laud be to Thee, King, Christ the Redeemer!

Saturday 3 February 2018

Friday 2 February 2018

Defeat - Rafael Cadenas

I who have never had a trade
who have felt weak facing every competitor
who lost the best titles for life

Thursday 1 February 2018

He sat down in his chair - Mercedes Durand

He sat down in his chair
after watching
thirty thousand peasants die.

Wednesday 31 January 2018

Supplications - Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Maqaleh

My God...
I seek refuge in you from the evil of myself,
From the evil of my people,
Form the evil of my good friends,
From the evil of my enemies who are poor of love,
From the evil of what the panegyrists had written,
And from the evils of what the spitfulls had written.

Tuesday 30 January 2018

All that Flesh and Fat - Anat Zecharia

All that flesh and fat, the coffee and the muffins
sunflower seeds in Atlantic sea salt,
all those matching items, the pillows
with tiger-head drawings.

Sunday 28 January 2018

The wingèd herald of the day - Aurelius Clemens Prudentius

The wingèd herald of the day
Proclaims the morn’s approaching ray:
And Christ the Lord our souls excites,
And so to endless life invites.

Saturday 27 January 2018

Tagalakoy - Adamou Idé

She comes from far away
Tagalakoy
She walks barefoot
Tagalakoy
She braves the heat
Tagalakoy
She comes from far away
She braves hunger
Tagalakoy

Friday 26 January 2018

If I were a little bird - Saacha Dorji

If I were a little bird,
How glad I would be,
To fly at will everywhere;
As far as the eye can see,
I’d fly.

Thursday 25 January 2018

Upon Arriving at Yangleshö - Khenchen Jigme Phuntsok

O Mañjuśrī, brave hero, all Conquerors’ activities gathered in one,
Dwell in my heart’s centre, the youthful vase body’s expanse,
And let mind lineage’s1 realisation descend with great power,
Bringing blessings of supreme wisdom’s light!

Wednesday 24 January 2018

I would like to take a walk in the wood - Marie Nervat

I would like to take a walk in the wood;
I would have a big hat and a flowing robe.
I would be carried away on the breeze and the light,
And you would take me again on your arm.

Tuesday 23 January 2018

I Am the Rain - Selma Meerbaum-Eisinger

I am the rain and I pass
Barefoot from land to land.
The wind plays in my hair
With a brown and slender hand.

Sunday 21 January 2018

Thou bounteous Giver of the light - St. Hilary

Thou bounteous Giver of the light,
All-glorious, in whose light serene,
Now that the night has pass'd away.
The day pours back her sunny sheen,

Saturday 20 January 2018

I'm sorry I am not a beast - Aleksandr Ivanovich Vvedensky

I'm sorry I am not a beast,
running along a blue road,
telling itself believe,
and the other self wait a bit,
we will go out with myself for a walk in the woods
to examine trifling leaves.

Thursday 18 January 2018

Proem - Elias Lönnrot

Mastered by desire impulsive,
By a mighty inward urging,
I am ready now for singing,
Ready to begin the chanting
Of our nation's ancient folk-song
Handed down from by-gone ages.

Wednesday 17 January 2018

Dawn - Antanas Strazdas

Arisen, arisen.
The morning star is up.
The cock begins to crow.

Tuesday 16 January 2018

Monday 15 January 2018

Broken Pines - Rainis

The towering pines near sea shore sands
The wind has broken with ruthless hands
They see the bright future they long to defend
Refusing concealment and scorning to bend:

Sunday 14 January 2018

Come, Saviour, Jesus, from above - Antoinette Bourignon

Come, Saviour, Jesus, from above,
Assist me with Thy heavenly grace;
Empty my heart of earthly love,
And for Thyself prepare the place.

Saturday 13 January 2018

To a Lady weeping - Ebn Alrumi

When I beheld thy blue eye shine
Thro' the bright drop that pity drew,
I saw beneath those tears of thine
A blue-eyed violet bath'd in dew.

Friday 12 January 2018

Wedding - Mahmood Jamal

Women weep, sisters and mothers weep
knowing what partings mean
knowing the meaning of playing a part
knowing the truth
of distances, dreams and men.

Thursday 11 January 2018

Quatrain by Sri Praj

True my every vow                   to thee
As a jewel would be                 set high

Wednesday 10 January 2018

I Take My Leave of You - Džore Držić

I do, my love, take leave of you, may God's good grace go with us both;
                I wish that you could only know by sobs and tears and grief,
                                                                                          my love!

Tuesday 9 January 2018

The exile to the swallow - Archbishop Khorene Nar Bey de Lusignan

O swallow, swallow, was it thine,
This nest, all cold and drear,
That empty in this niche I found
When first I entered here?
At sight of it mine eyes o’erflowed
With bitter teardrops, born
Of the sad thought that my nest too
Lies empty and forlorn.

Monday 8 January 2018

Brush-fire - Tchicaya U Tam’si

The fire the river that's to say
the sea to drink following the sand

Sunday 7 January 2018

Virgin of virgins - St Anselm

Virgin of virgins, Mary mild,
     Redemption's white and shining gate,
Salvation's portal undefiled,
     Help by thy prayers our lowly state.

Saturday 6 January 2018

Rome - Francisco de Quevedo

Amid these scenes, O pilgrim, seek’st thou Rome?
Vain is thy search,—the pomp of Rome is fled!

Friday 5 January 2018

Cynthia Bathing - Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim

From her fair limbs the last thin veil she drew,
  And naked stood in all her charms confess’d,

Thursday 4 January 2018

In the Trenches - Maurice Hewlett

As I lay in the trenches
Under the Hunter’s Moon,
My mind ran to the lenches
Cut in a Wiltshire down.

Wednesday 3 January 2018

Splendid and Terrible - Seamus O'Sullivan

Splendid and terrible your love.
The searing pinions of its flight

Tuesday 2 January 2018

The Conscript - George Cosbuc

I.
Down there in the prairie
Met two brothers from the army.
Said one brother to the other:
“Take this saddle from my horse
And strike me on the head!
What shall we two do at home?
Mother, father, both are dead;
The cattle have grown old in the stable—
Where the house stood, all is grass.”

Monday 1 January 2018

Departure - W. Wilfred Campbell

Old house now ruined, wrecked and gray,
    Home once enshrined of love's delight
And all glad promise of the May,
    Now hushed in shades of wintry night:—