Thursday, September 27, 2007

499. Candle Hat - Billy Collins

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In most self-portraits it is the face that dominates: Cezanne is a pair of eyes swimming in brushstrokes, Van Gogh stares out of a halo of s...
Wednesday, September 26, 2007

498. The Starry Night - Anne Sexton

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"That does not keep me from having a terrible need of––shall I say the word––religion. Then I go out at night to paint the stars."...
Tuesday, September 25, 2007

497. A "Thank You" Note (1) - Wislawa Szymborska

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Translated from the Polish by Joanna Maria Trzeciak There is much I owe to those I do not love. The relief in accepting they are closer to a...
Monday, September 24, 2007

496. The Eye, The Pulse - Harvey Shapiro

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. The air extends beyond this sill And, whether I will or not, performs Its various delights. So children Race upon the sand and cry Their c...
Friday, September 21, 2007

495. I Am - John Clare (1793-1864)

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I am––yet what I am, none cares or knows; My friends forsake me like a memory lost; I am the self-consumer of my woes–– They rise and ...
Thursday, September 20, 2007

494. Thesaurus - Billy Collins

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. It could be the name of a prehistoric beast that roamed the Paleozoic earth, rising up on its hind legs to show off its large vocabulary, ...
Wednesday, September 19, 2007

493. National Cold Storage Company - Harvey Shapiro

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. The National Cold Storage Company contains More things than you can dream of. Hard by the Brooklyn Bridge it stands In a litter of freight...
Tuesday, September 18, 2007

492. The God Forsakes Antony (2,3,4) - C. P. Cavafy

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Translated from the Greek by Rae Dalven When suddenly at the midnight hour an invisible troupe is heard passing with exquisite music, with s...
Monday, September 17, 2007

491. Robert Hass - Heroic Simile

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. When the swordsman fell in Kurosawa's Seven Samurai in the gray rain, in Cinemascope and the Tokugawa dynasty, he fell straight as a p...
Friday, September 14, 2007

490. The Great Figure - William Carlos Williams

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Among the rain and lights I saw the figure 5 in gold on a red firetruck moving tense unheeded to gong clangs siren howls and wheels rumbling...
Wednesday, September 12, 2007

489. No Title Required - Wislawa Szymborska

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Translated from the Polish by Stanislaw Baranczak and Clare Cavanagh It's come to this: I'm sitting under a tree, beside a river on ...
Tuesday, September 11, 2007

488. When They Are Found - C. P. Cavafty

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. Try to guard them, poet, however few there are that can be kept. The visions of your loving. Set them, half hidden, in your phrases. Try t...
Monday, September 10, 2007

487. The First Dream - Billy Collins

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. The Wind is ghosting around the house tonight and as I lean against the door of sleep I begin to think about the first person to dream, ho...
Friday, September 07, 2007

486. This Is A Wonderful Poem - David Wagoner

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. Come at it carefully, don't trust it, that isn't its right name, It's wearing stolen rags, it's never been washed, its bre...
Thursday, September 06, 2007

485. Finalities - C. P. Cavafy

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Translated from the Greek by Rae Dalven Plunged in fear and suspicions, with agitated mind and frightened eyes, we melt, and plan how to act...
Wednesday, September 05, 2007

484. Voices - C. P. Cavafy

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Translated from the Greek by Rae Dalven Ideal and dearly beloved voices of those who are dead, or of those who are lost to us like the dead....
Tuesday, September 04, 2007

483. N. V. N. - Anna Akhmatova

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(1915) Translated from the Russian by Jane Kenyon and Vera Sandomirsky Dunham There is a sacred, secret line in loving which attraction and ...
Monday, September 03, 2007

482. In Favor Of One's Time - Frank O'Hara

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. The spent purpose of a perfectly marvellous life suddenly glimmers and leaps into flame it's more difficult than you think to make cha...
Friday, August 31, 2007

481. Litany - Billy Collins

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You are the bread and the knife, The crystal goblet and the wine . . . ––Jacques Crickillon You are the bread and the knife, the cr...
Wednesday, August 29, 2007

480. The Ball - Wislawa Szymborska

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Translated from the Polish by Stanislaw Baranczak and Clare Cavanagh. As long as nothing can be known for sure (no signals have been picked ...