Lamp-Lit - Kisaka Ryo

I step into my apartment and first off
dart a look at the little lamp
on my answering-machine.

To the Venerable Virgin, Mariana De Jesús De Paredes Y Flores, Lily Of Quito - José Manuel Peramás

Virgin, the New World’s sweet pride and greatest glory,
Receive these Indian verses, which the poet renders to you,
coming from Quito’s boundary, with your pleasant demeanour

The Potatoes - Inge Pederson

Hospital. In sinking
yellow gardens. Water
stands still
under the trees.

Freedom Writers - Nimah Ismail Nawwab

The scribe’s spirit lifts
scenting the perfume of promising openness
taking a deep breath of tangy freshness
freedom of speech hailed in surprised jubilation

Ballad - Dan Andersson

My passion was born in the lusty spring
At the strand of the river tumbling blue.
Wild honey I drank in the years of my youth
In meadows drenched with midnight dew.

Listening to Mukesh - Pooja Nansi

Driving to your block,
I slide in my father’s cassette
of old Hindi songs and
I am humming in twilight
to the legendary
playback singer’s baritone

The Helmet And The Dandelion - Eduardas Miezelaitis

The Helmet And The Dandelion
Near a rotted old stump
Which the spring water washes
An old helmet rusts, gaunt,
And upon it, audacious,

Spring-Watching Pavilion - Hồ Xuân Hương

A gentle spring evening arrives
airily, unclouded by worldly dust.

It's morning and the sun carries naked treetops like antlers - Almin Kaplan

It's morning and the sun carries naked treetops like antlers

*
Trucks emerge from the night
And vanish into the day

Yesterday you fell asleep - Margarida Ferra

Yesterday you fell asleep, we
still had all the knives in our mouths,
three unused.

Andrew dreams of Catherine Wheels - Adrian Grima

The Catherine Wheels run riot,
crackling through the night
like a herd
of excitable colts,

Fascioners of Progress - Kendel Hippolyte

Because you do not heed the voices of Imagination,
neither the tongues of trees nor the voices of poets,
earth will erupt in a conspiracy of poetry and nature.

Vyâsa's instructions (The Hunter and the Hero - Book III) - Bhāravi

Beaming with a gentle lustre 
Soft as rays of autumn night, 
Graced witli auburn locks that clustered 
Like a cloud with lightning bright! 
Bearing grace in all its fulness 
On his more than mortal form, 
Filling every living creature 
With affection pure and warm! 
Speaking by his gentle features 
Peaceful thoughts that filled his heart, 
By his soft and trustful glances 
Seeking confidence t' impart! 
Mighty source of all the Vedas, 
Source from whom all virtues flow, 
Him the King Yudhishthir questioned, 
Curious his great end to know.

"Unattained by mighty virtue, 
Saint! thy visit is to me 
Like a holy life's fruition. 
Like the rain from cloudless sky! 
Rites performed bear fruit to-day, 
Brahmans' blessings bring forth weal, 
Mighty Saint! since by thy visit 
Honoured in this world I feel! 
By its grace it conquers evils, 
By its glory spreads our fame, 
From thy kindness as from Brahma's, 
Untold bliss and blessings come! 
Not the moon with gentle radiance 
Cheers my sad and weary eye, — 
Now my heart forgets its sadness, 
Beats with joy, for thou art nigh! 
Thy desire I may not question, 
Peaceful souls have no desires! 
But a wish to hear thy utterance 
With a boldness me inspires!"

In graceful words thus spoke the monarch; 
Vyâsa, by his kindness led. 
Anxious for the monarch's glory, 
Thus unto Yudhishthir said:

"He who strives for fame and glory 
Bears for all an equal love, 
He who strives for peace and virtue 
Should with love impartial move. 
Yet my partial heart, O monarch, 
Is by virtues drawn to thee; 
Virtues have a power attractive 
Even on holy saints and high. 
Are ye not of race imperial. 
Worthier far than Suyodhan? 
Has the old king lost his reason¹
Thus to wrench from you your own? 
And will fortune help a monarch 
Who on Karna places trust? 
Friendship with unrighteous mortals 
Is but fame and honour lost! 
When your foes left paths of virtue, 
You in virtue took your rest ; 
And midst changes, still unchanging, 
Shewed forgiveness, ever blest! 
Vainly did they seek to shame thee, 
Man of ever changeless love! 
'Tis thv wealth of worth and virtue 
In true light their actions prove! 
But mark my words! by valour only 
You can win in battle's hour; 
And in might is strong the foeman, — 
Therefore seek increase in power.

"Jamadagni's son,² who conquered 
Thrice seven times the kings of earth, 
Great though he, the chieftain trembles 
At great Bhishtna's³ mightier worth! 
Death is powerless, death is conquered 
By that chief's resistless power; 
Trembles earth when mighty Bhishma 
Wields his bow in battle's hour! 
Doughty Drona!⁴ in the battle, 
Speeding arrows in his ire, 
Like a world-consuming furnace 
With its quivering tongues of fire! 
Fiery Kama learnt his lessons 
From great Jamadagni's son. 
Death himself, in Karna's⁵ presence 
Owns a terror, strange, unknown! 
These are chiefs, believe me, monarch, 
Whom in battle thou shalt face! 
Hence let Arjun with due penance 
Seek celestial arms and grace. 
Let him seek that gift of prowess 
Gods themselves by penance crave, — 
This, O monarch, is my mission, —
Win the gift that speeds the brave."

Then the great and mighty Arjun 
Stept forth reverent and slow, 
Bowing to Yudhishthir's mandate, 
Like a student meek and low. 
And the gift, the fiery mantra, 
Issuing from the holy saint, 
As the sunlight falls on lotus, 
So unto great Arjun went! 
And the mantra's sacred radiance. 
Which the hero proudly wore, 
Quickly oped his eye of reason, 
Taught him secrets of deep lore! 
And his form betokened glory, 
And his heart was fixed and strong, 
Urging penance pure and holy, 
Vyâsa spoke to Arjun young.

"Strengthened by this mantra, Arjun! 
Yielding thy own place to none, 
Girt in arms perform thy penance. 
Unto fasts, ablutions prone. 
Let this Yaksha lead thee, youth! 
To the lofty golden hill,— 
There you do your sacred penance, 
Please great Indra, do his will." 

Thus speaking to the mighty chief 
The saint evanished from his view, 
Obedient to his sacred word 
Appeared the Yaksha, faithful, true. 
The Yaksha bowed and felt a love 
For Arjun, gentle in his speech; 
The pure are quick in confidence. 
And fi'iendship is not far to reach.

As darkness fills Sumeru's bowers 
When slow the god of day departs, 
The parting from the mighty Arjun 
Filled with grief his brothers' hearts. 
Dispelled awhile by sense of duty, — 
Albeit so strong was brothers' love, — 
The sorrow of the parting brothers, 
Though keen, did not oppressive prove. 
And hope and trust in Arjun's might. 
And bitter hatred of the foe, 
And confidence in Arjun's power 
Dispelled the brothers' common woe. 
As darkness leaves the hours of day 
And seeks the stillness of the night. 
Thus sorrow left the mighty chiefs, 
And fell on Krishnâ⁶ in its might. 
As flakes of snow the lotus fills 
Spontaneous tear-drops filled her eye, 
Nor could she weep, for tear-drops shed 
Might be an inauspicious sign! 
One look she gave, 'twas dear to soul, — 
And Arjun caught the parting grace, — 
His treasure and memento dear 
Through pathless woods and weary days. 
By grief her tender heart was wrung. 
Like summer rills by tuskers soiled; 
Her voice was choked with tears restrained, 
She spoke in accents sweet and wild.

"Restorer of our ancient fame, 
Now trailed in mire by foemen's art, 
Until thy mighty penance ends, 
Our absence should not pain thy heart. 
In fame's pursuit, in pleasure's quest, 
In deeds which glorious records fill, 
Unfailing Fortune leans to him 
Who labours with a mighty will! 
To rule the world was Kshatriya made, 
His wealth is conquering power in strife! 
Disgrace, alas! has quenched that power, — 
To true-born warriors dear as life! 
Disgrace, which kings in distant lands 
Have doubting heard, heads bent in shame! 
Which stains our former stainless worth, 
Our world embracing mighty fame! 
Disgrace, which wipes our former deeds. 
And hides in gloom our glory's blaze! 
Which wipes our future prospects fair. 
As evening wipes the sun's last rays! 
Disgrace by hated foemen dealt, — 
This bitter thought is cruel, smart! 
Disgrace which in thy absence, chief! 
Will freshen in this sorrowing heart.

"How changed thou art! like wounded tuskers. 
Prowess lost, and glory faded. 
Deprived of power by foemen's wile, 
Like day by clouds of autumn shaded! 
Thy arms unused have lost their glow. 
Nor deck thee as they did of yore; 
Thy form how changed, like summer lakes, 
Now faded by the loss of power! 
Duhsâsan dragged me by this hair! 
Untied they are, their lord is fate! 
On thy great fame they cast reproach, 
Oh! art thou Dhananjay⁷ the great? 
A Kshatriya he who can protect — 
A bow is useful in the war —
But vain their import if they fail 
In virtues by their name they bear. 
Thy warlike virtues, all but dead, 
Ingloriously thy rise await, 
And seem to share our common grief. 
And imitate our common plight!

"But rash thy foemen thee insult. 
As tuskers touch a lion's mane! 
Duty for thy worth elects thee, 
As the day elects the sun! 
A hero's deeds all deeds excel. 
And fill the glorious rolls of fame; 
A hero's name holds foremost place 
When men their mighty chieftains name! 
Then be a hero! do thy deeds, — 
And if perchance within thy heart, 
A thought of us awakes a pang, 
May Indra every grief avert! 
In sacred spots, from dangers free. 
May all thy time in safety pass; 
Beware the wicked, impure foes 
Who turn against the pure, alas! 
Thy duty calls thee! Arjun, go! 
Perform the saint's behest in peace; 
And all our dearest hopes fulfilling, 
Come thou to our dear embrace!"

Thus spoke Drupad's noble daughter, 
Deepening his resentment high; 
And he crimsoned in bis anger 
Like the sun in northern sky! 
Accoutred in his mighty weapons, 
Fancying all his foes before, 
As spells assume a power terrific. 
He a form terrific wore! 
The bow before which foemen trembled, 
Famed by many a mighty deed. 
The quivers never seen by foemen, 
And the long and shining blade, 
And his gem-bespangled armour. 
Like the star-decked sky, — he wore! 
Scars by Indra's darts inflicted, 
Hid by glory evermore!
Guided by the faithful Yaksba 
He unto the mountains hied, 
Filled the hearts of saints with sorrow, 
As with tears the chief they eyed.

A heavenlv music filled the realms on high. 
And fragrant blossoms gently fell from sky. 
And the sea with breakers ever restless 
Clasped the earth to whisper words of sweetness!
Bhāravi (6th century) India
Translated by Romesh Chunder Dutt 
From "The Hunter and the Hero"
Source: Lays of ancient India. Selections from Indian poetry rendered into English verse
by Romesh Chunder Dutt; Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner, 1894

1. Durycidhana's father, who banished the Pandava brothers after they had staked and lost their kingdom. 
2. Parasurama, a Brahman and son of Jamadagni, is said to have conquered and slaughtered the Kshatriyas twenty-one times. The struggle for supremacy which went on for centuries between the priests and kings of India (as in Europe in the Middle Ages) is darkly indicated in Parasnrama's story. 
3. Bhishnia, a great-uncle of Yudhishthira and Duryodhan alike, was the mightiest of the mighty warriors among the Kurus. He is said to have been safe from death except by his own will. 
4. Drona, a Brahman, and preceptor of the Pandavas and of Durodhana in arms. He was famed for forming phalanxes in battle. 
5. Karna, king of Anga or East Behar, was a fiery and wild chief, and was favoured by Duryodhana, because he was the only warrior among the princes of the age who was a match for Arjima in archery and skill of arms. 
6. Krishnâ (with a long â) is a name of Dranpadi. Krishna (with a short a) is the name of the Yadava chief, the ally of the Pandavas. 
7. A name of Arjuna. Duhsâsana, a brother of Duryodhana, dragged Draupadi by the hair after Yudhishthira had lost his kingdom. Drauadl declined to braid her hair after that till that insult was revenged.

<< (Book II) Yudhishthira's reply    (Book IV) Autumn fields >>

Why do you look like them? - Victoria Amelina

Why do you look like them?
Maybe you are brothers?

O Lover of gentle nature - Marguerite Porete

O Lover of gentle nature,
You are to be much praised:
Generous, courteous without measure,
Sum of all goodness,
You do not will to do anything,
Lover, without my will.

one and only - Handoyo Wibowo

if I could spend a day with you
I'd give you my heart and mind

if I could spend a night with you
I'd give you my body and soul

Paranoia in Astrakan - Roberto Piva

I saw a beautiful city whose name I forgot
where deaf angels roam the dawns coloring their eyes with invulnerable tears
where Catholic children offer lemons to little pachyderms that sneek out of their burrows

Walls - Yahia Lababidi

Walls cannot contain
the human spirit —
they cannot hold back love
or keep out hate…

Unwritten History - Neba Terry

Decades ago, our essence was termed folly;
Like a python, we were designed to swallow another’s heritage,
Regarded as cousins to apes,
And our languages crafted and refined only to be erased.

The great work - Nizami Ganjavi

A hundred arms were weak one block to move 
Of thousands, molded by the hand of Love 
Into fantastic shapes and forms of grace.
Which crowd each nook of that majestic place.

South Sudanese Girl - Jackline Ateng

She is tall.
Tall and slender.
Slender and dark.
Dark and beautiful.
She is comely and graceful.
Like a giraffe gracing the glades of Mara.

Lekha Dodi - Solomon ha-Levi Alkabetz

Chorus:
Come, my friend, to meet the bride; 
let us welcome the Sabbath.

“Ob​serve” and “Rememb​er,” in a single command, 
the One God announced​ to us. 
The Lord is One, and his name is One, 
for fame,​ for glory and for praise.

With the Wind - Konstantin Balmont

My soul is borne out on the wind.
Through the opaqueness of her earthly case she glitters like a sword.
She is free; she rides her body as the whirlwind the storm.

Farruca - Severo Sarduy

WITHIN A WHITE CUBE	the body is a volume
SUPERIMPOSED EDGES
THE BODY	Opaque dimensions

I Greet You - Jan Greshoff

I greet you, neighbor, comrade,
I greet you, hurdy-gurdy man, soldier,
Deliverer, farmer and beggar!
I greet you, blind fiddler!

Sevenfold (A Lamentation) - Ber Kotlerman

Tear your eyes away from the grey news stream
Sit on the floor and weep, and moan, and keen
At the sheer horror, obscene.

Occupation 1943 - Saadi Youssef

We boys, the neighborhood’s barefoot
We boys, the neighborhood’s naked
We boys of stomachs bloated from eating mud
We boys of teeth porous from eating dates and pumpkin rind

I Explain a Few Things - Pablo Neruda

Traitorous
generals:
look at my dead house
look at shattered Spain

Passiondale - Rob Esdaile

The ancient emblems of Christ’s death
have become now strangely shrunk.
The forest whence the cross was hewn is no more:
a treeless, birdless, muddy waste stands in its place;

Air Raid - Chinua Achebe

It comes so quickly
the bird of death
from evil forests of Soviet technology

The wrong rain - Jennifer Vishagan

I feel a longing, to feel 
the hug-worthy summer again.
Sleeping under a blanket of smoky fog 
that vows to weigh worse
as the winter sways in slow and ruthless.

On Being Asked to Write a Poem Against the War in Vietnam - Hayden Carruth

Well I have and in fact
more than one and I'll
tell you this too

To war mongers everywhere - Susan Nalugwa Kiguli

Tell us
Did you start a war
So our women
Could be sold to public shame?

The Hangman - Maurice Ogden

Into our town the Hangman came,
Smelling of gold and blood and flame.
And he paced our bricks with a diffident air,
And built his frame on the courthouse square.

Vavau and Haapai - Falepapalangi

My longing is told to the wind;
Is it a thing in which one may joy,
That in this land we abide?
Fair beckons the strand of Keitahi,¹
And the wave-beat of Tausisivatvaki¹—
Who is there content to stay here?

They Don’t Care About Us - Christopher Kudyahakudadirwe

They talk about us
On political podia
As if they care about us

Resistance - Joel Linares Moreno

The olive speaks in the middle of the camp
opens its charred entrails to the universe

Great God of heaven and earth - Moïse-Oriand Nkoghe-Mvé

Great God of heaven and earth,
Pour out upon us grace and mercy;
You created us in Your perfect image.
Protect us, then, from death and suffering.

Last night - Adams Sinarinzi

Last night
Under a half moon
Two lovers kissed

The Whiteman - Yassine Ouhmoudn

Gone is the world of We—
I is all you ever hear.
Here, the superego lost to the id,
Me, myself, and I—
And let others die.

Slavery - Malik Kundrah

The most denigrating slavery is that of being a slave to oneself.
No one is as much a slave as someone who believes he is free without being so.

Puerto Rican Obituary - Pedro Pietri

they worked
they were always on time
they were never late

Mixed Bag of Tropical Sweets Sitting Outside the Hotel R & R - Audrey Brown-Pereira

n is a g of the c
walking peeping like his prother kaukan
whose lost in islands of imagined para-dices
panting, pounding, desperately waiting
hiding in the nut-less tree

Dear Matafele Peinam - Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner

dear matafele peinam
you are a seven month old sunrise of gummy smiles
you are bald as an egg and bald as the buddha
your thighs that are thunder and shrieks that are lightning
so excited for bananas, hugs and
our morning walks past the lagoon

God's Book of Nature - Valdimar Briem

This wondrous world, my God, a book I deem,
Wherein the Author's heavenly glories shine:
The petals of the wayside flowers meseem
Its pages, pencilled o'er by hand divine.

I am a child who loves peace - Sawsan Alshamiri

I am a child who loves peace
I have always believed in peace
Until I saw something on TV,
something not expected at all,

Twilight - Rafael Estrada

Under the manycoloured showcase of the sky
it passes in its slow flight,
a heron, more tranquil than the evenmg.

Wings over Europe - Maria Olimpia de Obaldia

America, give heed:
this is no flight of herons nor of angels…
Those are wings which cover the broad skyline,
piercing the clouds,
challenging the winds:

Soung - Cyndi Celeste

Write me like I soung 

En’less
Continuin’
Like uh dreem –

Sonnet for the Moon - Lynn Sweeting

i feel like i have lived a thousand years,
i said to moon when she was fat and full,
when she grew dark i knelt and bled my tears
from wounds called eyes into a silver bowl.

Oh that I might capture the essence - Hwang Jini

Oh that I might capture the essence of this deep midwinter night

Love song - Bion of Phlossa

The Musses know no fear of the cruel Love; 
rather do their hearts befriend him greatly 
and their footsteps follow him close. 

At the edge of a pond - Māra Zālīte

I let the fish spawn in me
And the seaweed heal me.
I let the wind inhale me
while weevils destroy a flower.

Čelesta - Antanas Škėma

Tan tin tin tan — the celesta hammers away. Here I turn off the light, and darkness drinks me in. I lie like one immured but still permitted to breathe. I lie like one to be crucified whom nobody will nail to the cross. I lie and wait.

Oh Heather, Oh Blossom! - Juhan Liiv

Oh heather, oh blossom,
such a bleak, bleak autumn.

To María - Pastora Alomía de Guerrero

Are you leaving for the countryside, my dear friend!
What gift can I offer you upon your departure…?
Only a sad and tender farewell
Is all my love can give you, sweet María!

How much Does A Sunset Cost? - Jeremy Tiboth

Slowly, you were becoming indistinguishable from it all.
it only took a glimpse for it to paralyse you
i would have guessed you froze time again
if it weren’t for the golden dust particles dancing
in the sweet summer silence

Evening Song - Elisaveta Bagyrana

Тhe rosary of my human days
         Is coming unstrung, has come unstrung.
       Slipping unstoppable
     Through my weary fingers,
        Are its black and white beads.

Dawn of Darkness - Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

I know, I know,
It threatens the common gestures of human bonding
The handshake,
The hug

Singularity - Tibor Babiczky

When you step forth as
yourself, in full armour,
with each step making
the caverns of the subconscious
collapse, and all wisdom shrinks back.

Resignation (Story 1) - Saadi Shirazi

Our happiness is given by God alone,
And by strong arms and fingers is not won; 
When heaven refuses thee fair fortune’s smile 
Thy bravest efforts cannot her beguile;

Love - Regina Ullmann

You can see! Then mind that your eyes see nothing like what was once seen!

A Question of Life - Daniel Flores y Ascencio

Death
ambushes at every corner
and at times
brute sentiment
and rage 
distend my heart 
like a stretch sock. 

Bags - Blerina Rogova Gaxha

and just like that
it was time to pack up and leave
to roll up my life
move it from the small apartment
into a larger one

Blazing sun - Batool Abu Akleen

I’m burning my fingers
they’re melting one after the other
slowly, as war passes slowly:

Seasons - Nametso Dorothy Phonchi

Sunshine, sunset
Coffees and milk shakes
Sneezing, weeping,
Candy flaws and sweet bananas,

Dawn in the Valley - Fily Dabo Sissoko

In the sun’s path
three tongues of fire
stripe the azure sky.

A Found Poem - Seamus Heaney

Like everybody else, I bowed my head
during the consecration of the bread and wine,
lifted my eyes to the raised host and raised chalice,
believed (whatever it means) that a change occurred.

Tell me - Véronique Tadjo

Tell me
The word of the Griot
Who sings Africa
From times immemorial

Cataclysm and Songs - Conceição Lima

Happy what's left of me after I'm gone
If only one of the songs sung
Lives beyond the person singing in me now.
Yet I would not save from the slaughter
A single one of the songs I sang and sing.

Wild Dogs Under My Skirt - Tusiata Avia

I want to tattoo my legs.
Not blue or green
but black.

Tomorrow is not guaranteed - Cecile Marie Martine

Tomorrow is not guaranteed...
Life is too precious
for throwing stones,
misunderstanding,
confusion,
misinterpretation
are human errors.

Goodbye Guinea, goodbye! - Raquel Ilombé

I went singing solo
a song of love and forgetfulness,
the footsteps
I left in the sand,
that the waves gradually erased.

The silent witness - Iosephus del Ton

The swift wings of centuries but brush against my sides:
Whole kingdoms lie ruined before me.

My Sanctuary - Mary Jae Stowers

Four frozen walls
Stood mighty still
Gazing upon me,

The Culture that Lies - Gabriel Ndende

#Say no to Tribalism

we see bombs now those bombs break our homes now we are homeless hoping to find homes in heaven

Lake Engolasters - Sícoris

Still and icy water...
The lake is beautiful and lovely,
a mountain placidity,

Heartbreak - Josep M. Llompart

As if they suddenly abolished
the summer fennel, the corner
that waves
so wildly covet;

Conscience and War - Antigua Sister

He didn’t go to war
He didn’t think he had any enemies
He felt he had brothers in far-off places
that he’d love to get to meet some day.

The Mother's Song - Jean M. Auel

Out of the darkness, the chaos of time,
the whirlwind gave birth to the Mother sublime.
She woke to Herself knowing life had great worth,
the dark empty void grieved the Great Mother Earth.

Summer Memory - Marie Under

The door ajar, I stood at point of day,
Tiptoe for you and with awakened eyes.
The sun's gold slipper trod the gravelled way,

The Will - Saghir Ouled Ahmed

1
I was almost certain.
but now I’m of a cast-iron certainty that I’m going to die
a death of strange account
in the summer
or in the third half of August
to be precise

Temporarily Free - Rodney Roskruge

Thomas Sankara died for ideas
which still live on
today, tomorrow
red carpets for red berets
which can not stand upright
weighed down by tender bellies
made from Egypt, France and others

Micra - Mirza Rahchan Kayil

When you lie with me and love me,
You give me a second life of young gold;

Burn - Inger-Mari Aikio

in the morning I'm horny
but there are guests on the way

Africans - João Melo

Our paths are as old
as the ones worn by mankind.
We carved paths since the beginning, since we departed
our forests of origin and crossed the still-fertile Sahara,

Thee, O Christ, the Father’s splendor - Rabanus Maurus

Thee, O Christ, the Father’s splendor,
Life and virtue of the heart,
In the presence of the angels
Sing we now with tuneful art,
Meetly in alternate chorus,
Bearing our responsive part.

Who will listen to me - Toyo Mori

"Mama. where are you?
Papa. are you around?"
 

They are mine.
But am I theirs?
I'm confused.
 

When I cried. I cried alone,
No father listening to my pain,
No mother wiping my tears.
No brother's hand comforting me.

Lot's wife - Iryna Tsilyk

“There’s nothing in this country,” Lot’s wife says
impetuously and with disdain. “But it’s true. What can you get here?”
The soup’s boiling, someone else’s child is sleeping (for twenty zloty an hour),
while Lot drives back cars from Holland to sell.

Words of Woe - Poltu

I found you a word in my dictionary:
Enchanting, like you, a dancing fairy
You found me another in your book of words:
Revolting, 'cause I’m strictly for the birds

Roots and Rain - Haya Alhajri

The walls once echoed with our names,
A choir of love, of laughs, of games.
Now silence sleeps in every room,
Where memories bloom through quiet gloom.

A phone-call - Rafiq O’zturk

My poor dad
would love to be proud of me.
He is glad
if he finds something
that was lost long ago.

Q’esintuu - Odi Gonzales

no longer rooted in me no longer
is the roaring force
of a horn blower

O Holy Spirit, blessed Comforter - César Malan

O Holy Spirit, blessed Comforter, 
Who hast revealed the Saviour to my heart, 
Lead me again to him whom I adore, 
And the assurance of his love impart. 

Dusk - Yefon Isabelle

I am different, I told him.
But dear, he said
There isn't nothing special about being different
The world will only jeer at your ache.

Silence - René Maran

My relatives are dead. As for my friends,
My childhood friends, where are they?
Life has scattered them;
Scattered them like seeds blown by the wind.

Eggs - Tomás Iriarte

Beyond the sunny Philippines
An island lies, whose name I do not know;
But that’s of little consequence, if so
You understand that there they had no hens,

To my book - António Corrêa

Go, son, you're old enough,
you're emancipated;
you need to travel the world,
learn a bit about everything.

Question and answer - Björnstjerne Björnson

The Child 
Father! Within the forest's bound 
No bird I found, 
No sound of song the woods around. 

Canto Nine - Tonino Guerra

It must have been raining a hundred days,
       and the water that saturated
the roots of all the plants
Reached the library and soaked all the holy words
which were closed up in the convent.

All growth of the forest - Spervogel

All growth of the forest,
The deep-hidden gold,
All secret abysses,
Thine eye doth behold;

Family Portraits - Anna Maria Lenngren

Upon an old estate, her father's heritage, 
A shrivelled countess dowager 
Had vegetated half an age; 

Refreshment - Mary Electa Adams

Hast thou had hours when life seemed empty all,
And waste the garden thou wert set to till,
Like tide-swept sands that only white and still
Unanswering lay beneath the heaven's gray pall?

Path to the Huacas - Nora Alarcón

Route of the potato
life created
in the land of the morochucos
an offering to Apu Pariahunca
before the harvesting of the native potatoes

While unperishing love melted my bones - Manikkavacakar

While unperishing love melted my bones,
     I cried
I shouted again and again,

Blonde - Andrés Bello

Do you know, blonde, what favor I request
When I cover the altars with offerings?
Not rich furnishings, not superb lands,
Neither a table that flatters the appetite.

Assimilation - Eeva-Liisa Manner

I will show you a way
that I have travelled.

On the Incarnation - Gregory of Nazianzus

Foolish who worships not th’ eternal Word 
as equal to the high Father in heaven. 
Foolish who worships not th’ incarnate Word, 
as equal to the heavenly Word on High, 
but cuts from Father’s might His Word, or else 
severs the Word from human shape, our breadth. 

blue bridge - Viktor Krivulin

where gloomed as lilac
an upturned bowbend
blue bridge shadow—

Capriccio - Uroš Zupan

Form is what remains;
the glimmer of divine shapes,
light, colors, odors and tastes,
dreams after Coleridge's pipe –

Lament V - Jan Kochanowski

Just as a little olive offshoot grows
Beneath its orchard elders’ shady rows,
No budding leaf as yet, no branching limb,
Only a rod uprising, virgin-slim —

In Harmony with the World - Bodufenvalugey Seedi

One is never expected
In a sailboat to fly
As the wind carries it,
You simply lie.

Another year for Jesus - Francis Ridley Havergal

Another year for Jesus!
How can I wish for you
A greater joy or blessing,
O fellow-worker true?

Sweet kisses (Senryu) - Mario Odekerken

Sweet kisses linger,
laughter slips between soft breaths,
love steals the last word.

Quietly my wife - Toivo Lyy

Quietly my wife
breaths beside me,