The Adieu - Abou Mohammed

The boatmen shout, "'Tis time to part,

No longer can we stay;"—

'Twas then Maimuna taught my heart 

How much a glance could say.

Mama you've done well - Erwin Jones

I was first, a thought in your precious mind,

Until I became a living cell.

In the darkness of your motherly womb,

It took me nine long months to be fully groomed.

And Mama, you've done well.

At a Refugee Camp - Julius Chingono

After bouts of kachasu

we sleep drunk

to wake up in running battles

with hangovers

that seek refuge

in our heads.

My Bosnia, Devastated - Safet Isović

My Bosnia, devastated

My country, unplowed

Four summers fallow

 

In the Circle of the Veranda, 14 - Ivar Ivask

How could I reach back that far,

how could I become one with the old

churchyard in Rongu, daydreaming here

in these Bitterroot woods, blue enamel mug

in hand? A mug brimful with raspberries

And YHVH spoke to me when I saw His name - Rabbi Abraham Abulafia

And YHVH spoke to me when I saw His name

spelled out and merged with the blood in my heart,

separating blood from ink and ink from blood:

On the Massacre - Chayim Nachman Byalik

Ye heavens, pray for mercy on my head!

If God abides in you, and if a way

To Him exists, which yet I have not found,

Do you my prayers unto His ear convey!

Eclogue - Vicente Huidobro

                                    Sun about to die

The car broken down

And a smell of spring

Remains as the air sweeps by

Kiss The Earth - Thích Nhat Hanh

Walk and touch peace every moment.

Walk and touch happiness every moment.

Sonnet 148 - Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

Celia saw a rose which in happy self-praise

flaunted its pomp and vanity in the field,

cosmetics of carmine and cochineal

merrily smeared over its delicate face;