Friday, August 29, 2008

713. Epic - Patrick Kavanagh

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. I have lived in important places, times When great events were decided, who owned That half a rood of rock, a no-man's land Surrounded...
Monday, August 25, 2008

712. One Empty Island - Wislawa Szymborska

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Translated from the Polish by S. Baranczak & C. Cavanagh Island where all becomes clear. Solid ground beneath your feet. The only roads ...
Friday, August 22, 2008

711. "Are You Mr. William Stafford?" - William Stafford

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. "Are you Mr. William Stafford?" "Yes, but...." Well, it was yesterday. Sunlight used to follow my hand. And that's...
Monday, August 18, 2008

710. Epithalamion For A Second Marriage - Stephen Dunn

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. If you, X, take this woman, Y, and if you, Y, take this man, X, you two who have taken each other many times before, then this is somethin...
Friday, August 15, 2008

709. The Hospital - Patrick Kavanagh

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. A year ago I fell in love with the functional ward Of a chest hospital: square cubicles in a row Plain concrete, wash basins - an art love...
Thursday, August 07, 2008

708. It Is Marvellous to Wake Up Together - Eliazbeth Bishop

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. It is marvellous to wake up together At the same minute; marvellous to hear The rain begin suddenly all over the roof, To feel the air cle...
Wednesday, August 06, 2008

707. Patrick Kavanagh: An Annotated Exequy - L. E. Sissman

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. Well, Kavanagh, you've gone and done it, died The way you said you would, propped up with pride And penury in a dim nursing home I...
Tuesday, August 05, 2008

706. The Seance - Wislawa Szymborska

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Translated from the Polish by Walter Whipple Chance shows her tricks. She pulls a glass of cognac from her sleeve and seats Henry on it. I e...
Monday, August 04, 2008

705. Because We Are Not Taken Seriously - Stephen Dunn

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. Some night I wish they'd knock, on my door, the government men, looking for the poem of simple truths recited and whispered among the ...
Wednesday, July 30, 2008

704. Inniskeen Road: July Evening - Patrick Kavanagh

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. The bicycles go by in twos and threes – There's a dance in Billy Brennan's barn tonight, And there's the half-talk code of mys...
Friday, July 25, 2008

703. Taking Our Bearings - David Wagoner

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. To find out where we are, we gaze at the sunset, Then the moon and stars. We bring their images down to touch the sea, And there we are: t...
Thursday, July 24, 2008

702. Drift - Linda Pastan

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Lying in bed this morning you read to me of continental drift, how Africa and South America sleeping once side by side slowly slid apart; ho...
Tuesday, July 22, 2008

701. Drawing Lessons - Howard Nemerov

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I Your pencil will do particles and waves–– We call them points and lines––and nothing else. Today we shall explore the mystery Of points an...
Monday, July 21, 2008

700. Five Villanelles - Weldon Kees

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I. The crack is moving down the wall. Defective plaster isn't all the cause. We must remain until the roof falls in. It's mildly che...
Friday, July 18, 2008

699. Falling Asleep In The Garden - David Wagoner

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. All day the bees have come to the garden. They hover, swivel in arcs and, whirling, light On stamens heavy with pollen, probe and revel In...
Thursday, July 17, 2008

698. Prosody 101 - Linda Pastan

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. When they taught me that what mattered most was not the strict iambic line goose-stepping over the page but the variations in that line an...
Wednesday, July 16, 2008

697. Spring Evenng On Blind Mountain - Louise Erdrich

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I won't drink wine tonight I want to hear what is going on not in my own head but all around me. I sit for hours outside our house on Bl...
Tuesday, July 15, 2008

696. Cassandra - Wislawa Szymborska

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. It's me, Cassandra. And this is my city covered with ashes. And this is my rod, and the ribbons of a prophet. And this is my head full...
Monday, July 14, 2008

695. Canal Bank Walk - Patrick Kavanagh

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. Leafy-with-love banks and the green waters of the canal Pouring redemption for me, that I do The will of God, wallow in the habitual, the ...
Friday, July 11, 2008

694. Antarctica - Derek Mahon

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. ‘I am just going outside and may be some time.’ The others nod, pretending not to know. At the heart of the ridiculous, the sublime. He le...