On an old shore, the vulgar ocean rolls Noiselessly, noiselessly, resembling a thin bird, That thinks of settling, yet never settles, on a nest. The wings keep spreading and yet are never wings. The claws keep scratching on the shale, the shallow shale, The sounding shallow, until by water washed away. The generations of theContinue reading “Wallace Stevens – Somnambulisma”
Tag Archives: poems
Jisei: Haunting Japanese death poems from history
Japan has a long history of jisei, or death poems. Jisei is the “farewell poem to life.” These poems were written by literate people, often monks, royalty or courtiers just before their death. A Jisei from Prince Otsu in 686 BC is one of the earliest recorded death poems. Not all death poems are writtenContinue reading “Jisei: Haunting Japanese death poems from history”
Every Picture Tells a Story: Winter’s Ivory Skies
In a far off field Your animals put away The rustling of bare branches And dagger winds Although an ivory and lemon sky Keeps up the spirits Of a cold valley day
Every Picture Tells a Story: City of Dreams
In a far off field Your animals put away The rustling of bare branches And dagger winds Although an ivory and lemon sky Keeps up the spirits Of a cold valley day
Every Picture Tells a Story: Oh child inside
Every Picture Tells a Story: Oh child inside
Every picture tells a story: Observe yourself and time gets longer
Every picture tells a story: Into the unknowable
Every picture tells a story: hear your own voice
Every picture tells a story: Into the unknowable
Nothing passes from rest to motion – unless you move it in hidden ways
You glide between the heart and its casing as tears glide from the eyelid. You dwell in my inwardness, in the depths of my heart, as souls dwell in bodies. Nothing passes from rest to motion unless you move it in hidden ways, O new moon. ~ Mansur al-Hallaj (Persia, 9th century)
Content Catnip 
You must be logged in to post a comment.