Venice masks

Tuesday 28 February 2023

There was a child once - Boris Petrovsky

There was a child once.
He came to play in my garden;
He was quite pale and silent.

Monday 27 February 2023

Sunday 26 February 2023

One thing - Namdev

One thing I of my Lord entreat,
That I may ever serve his feet.

Friday 24 February 2023

Who will slay the wolf - Ali Podrimja

And the gentleman said

Should you happen to come upon
An Albanian and a wolf
Slay the Albanian

Thursday 23 February 2023

Grass will grow - Jonathan Kariara

If you should take my child Lord
Give my hands strength to dig his grave
cover him with earth
Lord send a little rain
For grass will grow

Monday 20 February 2023

May I Speak to the Queen... - Nana Arhin Tsiwah

I am from that land of burrowed mythologies
a statement of wrapped raped soil
feet as dirty as a camel’s ankle
shirt torn by the lenses of the butcher

Sunday 19 February 2023

The evils of the Balwo - Sayyid Muhammad 'Abdille Hassan

Oh my God, my God, have mercy 
on us and save us from the balwo.
The monarchs of old reigned and built their palaces,
But they fell short of achievement; 
they did not sojourn long in them 
and their desires were not fulfilled.

Saturday 18 February 2023

Advice in Three Sets of Three - Butön Rinchen Drup

To shun even minor misdeeds as if they were poisonous,
To strive to cultivate virtue even when it is challenging,
To overcome thoughts rooted in self-clinging—
One who adopts these three is learned indeed.

Friday 17 February 2023

Ode to Dubh-Ghiolla, the Shield of Aodh - Dallán Forgaill

Bright as the speckled salmon of the wave! 
Dubh-Ghiolla! panic of the banded brave; 

Thursday 16 February 2023

To the Directors of Amsterdam in Their New Stadthouse - Constantijn Huygens

Illustrious men! who bade the world’s eighth wonder rise,
Lifting its crown of stone sublimely to the skies;
Whose splendid walls are reared by skill’s unerring hand,
To use, the end, the source of all that ’s rich and grand;

Wednesday 15 February 2023

Simplicity - Jorge Luis Borges

The garden gate swings open,
gently, like a page in a book
that I have often questioned,

Tuesday 14 February 2023

A Bird Ballad - Henrik Johan Ibsen

One lovely day in springtime
We paced the avenue; 
As some dark riddle draws one
The place forbidden drew.

Monday 13 February 2023

Song about the Pain of Love and Sea - Pai Gomez Charinho

Those who spend their lives at sea
think there is no pain in the world
as great as their pain, and no fate worse
than a seaman’s fate, but consider me:

Sunday 12 February 2023

God of freedom, God of justice - Shirley Erena Murray

God of freedom, God of justice,
you whose love is strong as death,
you who saw the dark of prison,
you who knew the price of faith —
       touch our world of sad oppression
       with your Spirit's healing breath.

Saturday 11 February 2023

The Single Minded Nature - Katerina Anghelaki-Rooke

Nature, with romantic monoty
plans the spring of our life
copying its own adolescent dreams.

Friday 10 February 2023

The Frenchwomen of Fulham - Julie Irigaray

Each morning, the French women of Fulham
do cardio in the park next to the French school
where their French children are pupils.

Thursday 9 February 2023

Peace be still - Delphina Robert

Keyword: Ignite
There are times when I could start a riot when I actually want peace

Peace be still

Wednesday 8 February 2023

All acts of love must surrender - Kezang Dechen Choden

All acts of love must surrender;
Anything else is a grandiose display of the ego.

Tuesday 7 February 2023

Admonition Of A Loving Father to his Daughter - Lord Cam

Be very careful following the thinkings or trends of the world.
For sometimes the world is wrong.

Monday 6 February 2023

Sunday 5 February 2023

A Prayer Before Sleep - Cece Oh!

Like the beautiful sunlight, let all my fears scoot away;
As I sleep on my lovely bed, make my worries vanish into thin air.
Make the faintest of my doubts be forever erased;
With Your abundant, endless love, have my terrors effaced.
 

Saturday 4 February 2023

Tuvalu, Tuvalu - Iftikhar Ayaz

Tuvalu, Tuvalu –
Our home and friend
Our birth place – And end
We love you

Friday 3 February 2023

The Blue Hills Blues - Telcine Turner-Rolle

When I woke up this morning got me them Blue Hills blues.
When I woke up this morning got me them Blue Hills blues.
In less than a generation we messed up God’s venues

Thursday 2 February 2023

Dark and fearful - Bandi

Dark and fearful, the night was long,
But the new day has come, this bright new world,
The bells of freedom, clamorous, ringing,
The birds in the sky do their fluttering dance.
Mansae, mansae, manmansae! Hail freedom!

Wednesday 1 February 2023

Women of Africa - Ahmed Sékou Touré

Women of Africa,
Women of the Revolution!
You will rise up to apex
You will journey endlessly
At a walking pace of the social Revolution,