Time - Canisius Filibert

Long ago my
Ancestors knew time
They counted moons
They watched sunrises
No one needed hours
Nor tiny little seconds
Days were enough

From my lips in their defilement - John of Da­mas­cus

From  my lips in their defilement,
From my heart in its beguilement. 
From my tongue which speaks not fair, 
From my soul stained everywhere, 
O my Jesus, take my prayer!

Port - Pedro Serrano

The city tastes of the sea,
rings saltpeter bells,
sways its long arms of willow,
licks the frightened bones of its planes,
and flees in a tangled web of defection.

What (E)Merges - Omar Sakr

It is a national emergency
when people with faces
(like mine) seek refuge.

A Bag of Perseverance - Shahd Alnaouq

I am to live in a tent, together with my perseverance.
Each night I wrap myself in her, begging her
not to abandon me on this long dark road.

Lost Things - Carol Shields

It sometimes happens when looking for
Lost objects, a book, a picture or
A coin or spoon,
That something falls across the mind—
Not quite a shadow but what a shadow would be
In a place that lacked light.

The ass - Sa’dī

True, the poor ass is dull;
but then for carrying loads 'tis dear to men. 

The Chalcedonian Creed - Anonymous

We, then, following the holy Fathers, all with one consent,
teach men to confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, 
the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood; 

Emergency Meeting - Abdullah Al Salem

Baghdad, be patient.  What’s the rush?
We’ll come solve the problem.
We’ve never forgotten you;
We’ve just been busy with related tales.

Triumphant march - Rubén Darío

Comes the parade now with one accord,
Marching comes the army and the clear, bright bugling begins.
Fearsome is the glittering of each reflected sword,
With gold and steel amassing the moving paladins.

A Sad State Of Freedom - Nazim Hikmet

You waste the attention of your eyes,
the glittering labour of your hands,
and knead the dough enough for dozens of loaves
of which you'll taste not a morsel;
you are free to slave for others—
you are free to make the rich richer.

Alas! I sigh with languor - Su Hui

Alas! I sigh with languor
Over the one who wandered from the way.

Jesus, refuge of the weary - Girolamo Savonarola

Jesus, refuge of the weary,
blest Redeemer, whom we love,
fountain in life's desert dreary,
Savior from the world above,
often have your eyes, offended,
gazed upon the sinner's fall;
yet, upon the cross extended,
you endured the pain of all.

War Chant - Kai Uwe Faust

The household wanes,
Vil threw a death wave over those
the oar locks wore out for, with the tired mast-top 
Who brought...
Who brought the horde over to the far country?

I'll plant you a rose garden - Fouad Ghazi

I'll plant you a rose garden
And a little tree to give you shade
And spin for you from the light of the sun
A bracelet to adorn your hand

When you ask me where I am - Nazira Berdaly

When you ask me where I am
I could ask myself the same
as I think about life and verses.

Autumn Thoughts - Nikolaus Lenau

Fairest Spring, thou art not here, 
Nowhere, nowhere wilt thou tarry,
Where I saw thy flowers appear, 
Autumn's blasts the dead leaves carry.

Butterfly - Upendra Subba

My one-and-a-half-year-old daughter
Leaves holding my finger
And runs away to catch a butterfly
Fluttering in the yard –
The butterfly keeps on flying around
And she keeps on following it.

Winter - Matthias Claudius

A Song to Be Sung behind the Stove

Old Winter is the man for me—
Stout-hearted, sound, and steady;
Steel nerves and bones of brass hath he:
Come snow, come blow, he ’s ready!

O dearest Lord - Thomas Kingo

O dearest Lord, receive from me
The heartfelt thanks I offer Thee,
Who through Thy body and Thy blood
Hast wrought my soul’s eternal good.

Poem from a Prison Cell - Mohammad al-Ajami Ibn al-Dheeb

Is it my mind or my heart that I’ve lost
to you, Arab lands, home of enemies?
If you held our minds with law and reason
if you respected our opinions
then you’d hold my heart as well

The Horses - Qassim Haddad

This is how the horses gallop, dislodging themselves from the eminence of the carriage and disturbing the tranquillity of the market.

How can I tell - Karin Boye

How can I tell if your voice is beautiful.
I only know, that it penetrates me
and makes me shake like a leaf
and tears me to shreds and splits me.

Arjun's Penance (The Hunter and the Hero - Book VI) - Bhāravi

Arjun, on his penance bent, 
Followed Gangâ's rocky course, 
Scaled the hill, as Vishnu [1] mounts, 
The golden bird which heavenward soars. 
Forest trees like worshippers 
Sang his praise with hum of bees, 
Bent their heads and rained their blossoms, 
Gently shaken by the breeze! 

The First Book of the Æneis (lines 50-75) - Vergil

Now scarce the Trojan fleet, with sails and oars,
Had left behind the fair Sicilian shores,
Ent’ring with cheerful shouts the wat’ry reign,
And plowing frothy furrows in the main;
When, lab’ring still with endless discontent,
The Queen of Heav’n did thus her fury vent:

Addiction - Indira Moreno

I inhale
the shadows of the calendar
that hang my fate
buried.

Wind blew! - Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai

Wind blew! The sand enveloped the body,
Whatever little life left, is to see the beloved.

My Friends - Carlos Aragón

(in semi-syncopated flow)
.
Where are they? Where are they?
Where are my old friends?
Those from our little school
and those from the university…