I
Leonard Nolens
Today five billion people said I
With a kiss, a razor blade, a plate of spaghetti, a shot.
It
...
Leonard Nolens
Today five billion people said I
With a kiss, a razor blade, a plate of spaghetti, a shot.
It
...
I
José Manuel Arango
men rush out on the streets
to celebrate the coming of night
the sound of a flute goes
...
José Manuel Arango
men rush out on the streets
to celebrate the coming of night
the sound of a flute goes
...
I
Anneke Brassinga
Beloved, flower bulb for whom we seek an upshot!
This underhand idling of yours is getting to
...
Anneke Brassinga
Beloved, flower bulb for whom we seek an upshot!
This underhand idling of yours is getting to
...
I AM
Margarita Cardona
I am barely a voice
Or a hand I recognize
And which rests
I love the beauty of my
...
Margarita Cardona
I am barely a voice
Or a hand I recognize
And which rests
I love the beauty of my
...
I AM A FOREIGNER
Ivan Slamnig
I am a Foreigner! Good evening.
Are you a foreigner too?
It makes us a
...
Ivan Slamnig
I am a Foreigner! Good evening.
Are you a foreigner too?
It makes us a
...
I AM A HUNDRED YEARS OLD, SHE TELLS HERSELF
Carmen García
I am a hundred years old, she tells herself. I am a hundred years old, and all the lives I’ve
...
Carmen García
I am a hundred years old, she tells herself. I am a hundred years old, and all the lives I’ve
...
I AM GLAD THAT YOU
Peter Verhelst
We have left it all behind, for the first time in a long while we feel something,
we are
...
Peter Verhelst
We have left it all behind, for the first time in a long while we feel something,
we are
...
I AM GOING DOWN THE HILL
Nilmani Phookan
I’m going down the hill
It’s getting dark
At my heels
are some rocks
horizontal
...
Nilmani Phookan
I’m going down the hill
It’s getting dark
At my heels
are some rocks
horizontal
...
I AM ME, MYSELF
Shuntaro Tanikawa
I know who I am
I am here now
but I may be gone in an instant
even if I am no
...
Shuntaro Tanikawa
I know who I am
I am here now
but I may be gone in an instant
even if I am no
...
I AM SIX, TRAVELING WITH MY PARENTS, LATE SATURDAY AFTERNOON
Hezy Leskly
My father—the hammer raised above the plate,
My mother—the love snake,
And
...
Hezy Leskly
My father—the hammer raised above the plate,
My mother—the love snake,
And
...
I AM THE EARTH
Kiyoko Nagase
I am warm, moist soil
I am a single supple stalk
I draw my life
all the way up
...
Kiyoko Nagase
I am warm, moist soil
I am a single supple stalk
I draw my life
all the way up
...
I AM YUDIT
Yudit Shahar
I am Yudit, the granddaughter of Rebbe Yudah
who sailed on his longings in a boat from
...
Yudit Shahar
I am Yudit, the granddaughter of Rebbe Yudah
who sailed on his longings in a boat from
...
I CALLED GOD
Adi Assis
I called God but there's no
God. But there was
God because I called
God. And
...
Adi Assis
I called God but there's no
God. But there was
God because I called
God. And
...
I CAN'T WAIT FOR SUMMER ANY LONGER
Sheng Xing
it's a shame, really
making me fall in love with you in winter
when I've stripped off
...
Sheng Xing
it's a shame, really
making me fall in love with you in winter
when I've stripped off
...
I CAVALLI DI LEONARDO
Rutger Kopland
All those sketches he left behind –
endless series of repetitions: bunches of muscles,
...
Rutger Kopland
All those sketches he left behind –
endless series of repetitions: bunches of muscles,
...
I CLICK THEREFORE I AM
Yi Won
Rather than spread open the morning paper smelling of ink
at dawn I lightly double-click onto
...
Yi Won
Rather than spread open the morning paper smelling of ink
at dawn I lightly double-click onto
...
I DIDN’T WIN LIGHT IN A WINDFALL
Chaim Nachman Bialik
I didn’t win light in a windfall,
nor by deed of a father’s will.
I hewed my light from
...
Chaim Nachman Bialik
I didn’t win light in a windfall,
nor by deed of a father’s will.
I hewed my light from
...
I DIVED INTO A BAY
Nyk de Vries
I dived into a bay. I dived into a bay whose water was so murky that I couldn’t see my hand in
...
Nyk de Vries
I dived into a bay. I dived into a bay whose water was so murky that I couldn’t see my hand in
...
I DO NOT CHOOSE THE PLACE WERE I COME FROM
Carmen García
I do not choose the place were I come from. Nor the way it manifests itself. I look back, and all I
...
Carmen García
I do not choose the place were I come from. Nor the way it manifests itself. I look back, and all I
...
I DON’T REMEMBER
Oscarine Bosquet
There’s not much to remember
I must have lived nearby the whole time
without
...
Oscarine Bosquet
There’s not much to remember
I must have lived nearby the whole time
without
...
I DON’T WANT TO SPOIL THE MOOD
Elmar Kuiper
my pencil comes from a tree.
I call your name, you step
out of a gray world
and come
...
Elmar Kuiper
my pencil comes from a tree.
I call your name, you step
out of a gray world
and come
...
I DREAMED IN THE CITIES AT NIGHT
Remco Campert
I dreamed in the cities at night
in Paris I prowled on the boulevards
looking for francs
...
Remco Campert
I dreamed in the cities at night
in Paris I prowled on the boulevards
looking for francs
...
I FELL
Hadas Gilad
I fell into his mouth
despite the warning signs
how did it happen
that I fell
...
Hadas Gilad
I fell into his mouth
despite the warning signs
how did it happen
that I fell
...
I FELT THE SUNLIGHT
Wang Xiaoni
Along the long, long corridor I go on walking . . . —Before me there are dazzling windows, on
...
Wang Xiaoni
Along the long, long corridor I go on walking . . . —Before me there are dazzling windows, on
...
I FORGET MYSELF
Lauren Mendinueta
October has arrived controlled by the rains,
and the remaining months have followed it
...
Lauren Mendinueta
October has arrived controlled by the rains,
and the remaining months have followed it
...
I GET POETRY FROM SEISMIC AND VOLCANO DATA, AND FROM WEATHER FORECASTS.
Abdelilah Mouissi
I cool down in anger.
When I write I lose my noblest side,
My most rational part.
...
Abdelilah Mouissi
I cool down in anger.
When I write I lose my noblest side,
My most rational part.
...
I GET UP TO MAKE YESTERDAY INTO THE DAY BEFORE YESTERDAY
Delphine Lecompte
I get up to think about yesterday
Yesterday I wrote a bad poem
But I thought it was
...
Delphine Lecompte
I get up to think about yesterday
Yesterday I wrote a bad poem
But I thought it was
...
I HAD A TEACHER
Aharon Almog
I had a teacher who stormed the classroom and said:
hurry and write
write what? we
...
Aharon Almog
I had a teacher who stormed the classroom and said:
hurry and write
write what? we
...
I HAVE A LONGING
Aharon Almog
I have a longing for the sandwich I took to school
for eight years with mother’s great
...
Aharon Almog
I have a longing for the sandwich I took to school
for eight years with mother’s great
...
I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE BEFORE
Rune Christiansen
One morning you move without understanding poetry, in the light there is no room, only thin dust,
...
Rune Christiansen
One morning you move without understanding poetry, in the light there is no room, only thin dust,
...
I HAVE HEARD
Mehrdad Fallah
They have made such mayhem you can’t hear your own voice, right?
I have heard they have
...
Mehrdad Fallah
They have made such mayhem you can’t hear your own voice, right?
I have heard they have
...
I HAVE NO PROBLEM
Mourid Barghouti
I look at myself:
I have no problem.
I look all right
and, to some girls,
my
...
Mourid Barghouti
I look at myself:
I have no problem.
I look all right
and, to some girls,
my
...
I JUST MOPPED THE FLOOR
Afrizal Malna
i just mopped the floor. i walk on tiptoe, so that
the floor i just mopped isn’t made dirty
...
Afrizal Malna
i just mopped the floor. i walk on tiptoe, so that
the floor i just mopped isn’t made dirty
...
I JUST WANT
Jorge Gaitán Durán
The snow ceased quickly, like music.
Birds and green come across the cold.
You are going to
...
Jorge Gaitán Durán
The snow ceased quickly, like music.
Birds and green come across the cold.
You are going to
...
I JUST WANTED TO SAY
Remco Campert
Can you round off your speech please
your time’s up
I just wanted to say
keep it
...
Remco Campert
Can you round off your speech please
your time’s up
I just wanted to say
keep it
...
I KNOW
Tomaž Šalamun
Last night, in the water where Barnett Newman’s
line disappeared, I drowned. I swam
...
Tomaž Šalamun
Last night, in the water where Barnett Newman’s
line disappeared, I drowned. I swam
...
I KNOW
Nachoem M. Wijnberg
You want to go away.
Because they kill all the rabbits here.
But you’re not a rabbit.
...
Nachoem M. Wijnberg
You want to go away.
Because they kill all the rabbits here.
But you’re not a rabbit.
...
I KNOW I’M ALIVE . . .
Jorge Gaitán Durán
I know I’m alive on this beautiful day
laying beside you. It’s summer.
Heated fruits in your
...
Jorge Gaitán Durán
I know I’m alive on this beautiful day
laying beside you. It’s summer.
Heated fruits in your
...
I LAY DOWN LIKE A CATERPILLAR
Oreet Meital
I lay down like a caterpillar
but he wanted me
to lie down like a panther
one
...
Oreet Meital
I lay down like a caterpillar
but he wanted me
to lie down like a panther
one
...
I LOOK THROUGH THE MONKEYS’ EYES
Amir Or
I look through the monkeys’ eyes,
as they play with my skull in the treetops.
I’m lifted
...
Amir Or
I look through the monkeys’ eyes,
as they play with my skull in the treetops.
I’m lifted
...
I LOVE CHINA
Jimu Langge
China’s history
A history of war
of ideas, of literature
The Chinese won’t rashly
...
Jimu Langge
China’s history
A history of war
of ideas, of literature
The Chinese won’t rashly
...
I OPEN MY EYES IN THE MORNING
Nitin Kulkarni
I open my eyes in the morning.
Saved.
Step out of bed.
Saved.
Drink
...
Nitin Kulkarni
I open my eyes in the morning.
Saved.
Step out of bed.
Saved.
Drink
...
I OPEN MY POEM
Gabriel Rosenstock
I open my poem to bright things
here come oranges, dandelions,
come in
take a seat
I’ll
...
Gabriel Rosenstock
I open my poem to bright things
here come oranges, dandelions,
come in
take a seat
I’ll
...
I PASSED THE TATTOOED NIGHT WIDE AWAKE
Nilmani Phookan
I passed the tattooed night wide awake
looking at myself in the mirror this morning I saw
...
Nilmani Phookan
I passed the tattooed night wide awake
looking at myself in the mirror this morning I saw
...
I PENETRATED MATTER HOWLING
Nikos Karouzos
Two seas pursue me: life and death
two currents which, damn them, are in my
...
Nikos Karouzos
Two seas pursue me: life and death
two currents which, damn them, are in my
...
I PREPARE A SALAD BEFORE THE EYES OF MY FATHER
Marlene van Niekerk
i prepare a salad before the eyes of my father
what leaves he asks what grass which small
...
Marlene van Niekerk
i prepare a salad before the eyes of my father
what leaves he asks what grass which small
...
I REMEMBER ETTY HILLESUM
Tal Nitzán
Did she still whisper
“Why anticipate trouble”
when transported from Westerbork
to
...
Tal Nitzán
Did she still whisper
“Why anticipate trouble”
when transported from Westerbork
to
...
I SAID NOTHING, I JUST THOUGHT
Hugo Jamioy Juagibioy
These plumes that the Taita has in his crown
made me think about the death of a macaw;
...
Hugo Jamioy Juagibioy
These plumes that the Taita has in his crown
made me think about the death of a macaw;
...
I SAW IT WITH MY OWN EYES
Jun Er
it was late at night:
souls flapped against a wall
independent,
...
Jun Er
it was late at night:
souls flapped against a wall
independent,
...
I SECOND GUESS THE BLINKING
Carlos Bedoya
It is always eternity floating
in the dark
forever more
perpetual armor of a dream
...
Carlos Bedoya
It is always eternity floating
in the dark
forever more
perpetual armor of a dream
...
I SIT
Shuntaro Tanikawa
One afternoon with the sky covered in thin clouds
I sit on a sofa
like a shelled
...
Shuntaro Tanikawa
One afternoon with the sky covered in thin clouds
I sit on a sofa
like a shelled
...
I SPEAK AND YOU DROWN
Israel Bar Kohav
I speak and you drown,
muttering in the heavy rain.
Fear kidnapped you from
...
Israel Bar Kohav
I speak and you drown,
muttering in the heavy rain.
Fear kidnapped you from
...
I STILL TAKE REFUGE
António Osório
I still take refuge
in your honeysuckle, Father.
Over there, lush as ever,
is the
...
António Osório
I still take refuge
in your honeysuckle, Father.
Over there, lush as ever,
is the
...
I TAKE OUT WHAT I BRING
Valeria Tentoni
and I leave it for you
the way some dogs leave
dead birds at their owner’s
...
Valeria Tentoni
and I leave it for you
the way some dogs leave
dead birds at their owner’s
...
I THINK OF A MISTAKE
Jimu Langge
In the past, when going to my family’s home came up
I would feel an indescribable excitement
...
Jimu Langge
In the past, when going to my family’s home came up
I would feel an indescribable excitement
...
I THINK: IF ONE CAN LIVE WITHOUT THAT NIGHT
Samuel Jaramillo
where the stars boiled in the skillet,
it is because truly nothing can defy oblivion.
The
...
Samuel Jaramillo
where the stars boiled in the skillet,
it is because truly nothing can defy oblivion.
The
...
I TRY TO WAKE YOU IN THE DARK
Admiel Kosman
I try to wake You in the dark.
From Mecca or Jerusalem.
I try to
...
Admiel Kosman
I try to wake You in the dark.
From Mecca or Jerusalem.
I try to
...
I WAITED WITH ENDLESS PATIENCE
Ella Bat-Tsion
I waited with endless patience
like an autistic dream
at the gate of the institution
the
...
Ella Bat-Tsion
I waited with endless patience
like an autistic dream
at the gate of the institution
the
...
I WANNA WOMAN
Yuri Andrukhovych
From Songs For the Dead Rooster
Today they talked again about the masturbator.
Summer
...
Yuri Andrukhovych
From Songs For the Dead Rooster
Today they talked again about the masturbator.
Summer
...
I WANT TO BE KILLED BY AN INDIAN BULLET
Thangjam Ibopishak Singh
I heard the news long ago that they were looking for me; in the morning in the afternoon
at
...
Thangjam Ibopishak Singh
I heard the news long ago that they were looking for me; in the morning in the afternoon
at
...
I WAS ABOUT TO WRITE A HATE POEM
Valeria Tentoni
but I laid down in bed for a while
I didn’t answer the phone.
I thought about
...
Valeria Tentoni
but I laid down in bed for a while
I didn’t answer the phone.
I thought about
...
I WILL ALWAYS SAY
Bongekile Joyce Mbanjwa
We exclaimed until our saliva dried out
Every person has turned into bread
We walk helter
...
Bongekile Joyce Mbanjwa
We exclaimed until our saliva dried out
Every person has turned into bread
We walk helter
...
I WILL RISE THIS TIME FOR SURE
Bharat Majhi
I will rise this time for sure.
Those of you
who were vigilant so long,
could
...
Bharat Majhi
I will rise this time for sure.
Those of you
who were vigilant so long,
could
...
I WONDER WHY
Michio Mado
Sometimes I wonder
why it is not so.
For ages and ages, for billions of years
...
Michio Mado
Sometimes I wonder
why it is not so.
For ages and ages, for billions of years
...
I WON’T COME AND TELL YOU
Gagan Gill
I won’t come and tell you
that these days I’m a star
lonely as stars
I
...
Gagan Gill
I won’t come and tell you
that these days I’m a star
lonely as stars
I
...
I WON’T DO IT AGAIN
Ticha Muzavazi
In this fast-paced, highly dramatic poem, the poet looks back at an unforgettable incident that
...
Ticha Muzavazi
In this fast-paced, highly dramatic poem, the poet looks back at an unforgettable incident that
...
I WOULD LIKE
Humberto Ak'abal
The birds
sing in full flight
and in full flight they shit.
I stare at
...
Humberto Ak'abal
The birds
sing in full flight
and in full flight they shit.
I stare at
...
I WRITE HEBREW
Salman Masalha
I write in the Hebrew language
which is not my mother tongue, to
lose myself in the
...
Salman Masalha
I write in the Hebrew language
which is not my mother tongue, to
lose myself in the
...
I, THE WORST OF ALL
Luz Helena Cordero
Sister Juana Inés, she of the cross on her skirt,
of the jail within her bosom and hidden
...
Luz Helena Cordero
Sister Juana Inés, she of the cross on her skirt,
of the jail within her bosom and hidden
...
ICARUS
Yael Globerman
At first Icarus simply wanted to get out. He didn’t want
to fly. But the sea was
...
Yael Globerman
At first Icarus simply wanted to get out. He didn’t want
to fly. But the sea was
...
ICHTHYS
Sigitas Parulskis
I stood at the hotel window
a gull of light suddenly
struck the glass
wide-open
...
Sigitas Parulskis
I stood at the hotel window
a gull of light suddenly
struck the glass
wide-open
...
IDEAS ABOUT DYING
Mark van Tongele
Do I get my hands on the key to time? will
I become a ray of light bent by gravity
on
...
Mark van Tongele
Do I get my hands on the key to time? will
I become a ray of light bent by gravity
on
...
IDENTITY
Jacques Roubaud
What identity could be yours, that of your death?
you are, some would say, your grave
...
Jacques Roubaud
What identity could be yours, that of your death?
you are, some would say, your grave
...
IDENTITY CARD
S. Joseph
In my student days
a girl came laughing.
Our hands met kneading
her rice and fish
...
S. Joseph
In my student days
a girl came laughing.
Our hands met kneading
her rice and fish
...
IDENTITY CARD
Najwan Darwish
Despite—as my friends joke—the Kurds being famous for their severity, I was gentler
...
Najwan Darwish
Despite—as my friends joke—the Kurds being famous for their severity, I was gentler
...
IDENTITY CRISIS
Eugenijus Ališanka
who would I be if I were really
not as I am now a man
of an unknown faith my head by
...
Eugenijus Ališanka
who would I be if I were really
not as I am now a man
of an unknown faith my head by
...
IDYLL
Teixeira de Pascoaes
As the night above me
Keeps on growing,
Closer and more real
Is your apparition. .
...
Teixeira de Pascoaes
As the night above me
Keeps on growing,
Closer and more real
Is your apparition. .
...
IDYLL
Andrea Gibellini
In the morning
on the terrace glistening in the sun
on the black railing drenched
...
Andrea Gibellini
In the morning
on the terrace glistening in the sun
on the black railing drenched
...
IF
Manju Kanchuli
Had I not stumbled I would have fallen
If that small mistake had not been made
...
Manju Kanchuli
Had I not stumbled I would have fallen
If that small mistake had not been made
...
IF ALL ARE PRESENT, LIFE LACKS LESS
Eduardo Espina
We became less and less, until
the day arrived when we were less and less.
Perhaps both
...
Eduardo Espina
We became less and less, until
the day arrived when we were less and less.
Perhaps both
...
IF GIACOMETTI HAD BEEN ALONG
Henrik Nordbrandt
Everything has its limit, people say.
Each day I stand at a new one
and so come to
...
Henrik Nordbrandt
Everything has its limit, people say.
Each day I stand at a new one
and so come to
...
IF ONE DAY
Kawa Niangji ལགས་ཀྱི་ཟིན་བྲིས།
If one day I fade out,
not saying a goodbye, with half joy half bitterness,
catching a
...
Kawa Niangji ལགས་ཀྱི་ཟིན་བྲིས།
If one day I fade out,
not saying a goodbye, with half joy half bitterness,
catching a
...
IF THE RIVER IS NAMED
Tallulah Flores
I have absolutely nothing with which
to equal these handsome men
who naively assault
...
Tallulah Flores
I have absolutely nothing with which
to equal these handsome men
who naively assault
...
IF YOU COULD SEE HER AFTER DRINKING WINE . . .
Colm Breathnach
If you could see her after drinking wine,
Wine from Chile of the berry-red kind
...
Colm Breathnach
If you could see her after drinking wine,
Wine from Chile of the berry-red kind
...
IF YOU DON’T EAT ANYTHING
Hugo Jamioy Juagibioy
My grandmother used to say:
if tonight you eat white corn
tomorrow the clouds
...
Hugo Jamioy Juagibioy
My grandmother used to say:
if tonight you eat white corn
tomorrow the clouds
...
IF YOU WANT
Hezy Leskly
If you want spaghetti bolognese
you’ll get all the spaghetti bolognese in the world.
...
Hezy Leskly
If you want spaghetti bolognese
you’ll get all the spaghetti bolognese in the world.
...
IF YOU WANT LOVE
LET IT FOLLOW ITS WHIMS
María Mercedes Carranza
I have forgotten all the names,
the names of my dead and of my sons.
I don’t recognize
...
LET IT FOLLOW ITS WHIMS
María Mercedes Carranza
I have forgotten all the names,
the names of my dead and of my sons.
I don’t recognize
...
IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A WOMAN
Julián Malatesta
If you’re looking for a woman,
Invent a city to find her in.
You should make her lose her
...
Julián Malatesta
If you’re looking for a woman,
Invent a city to find her in.
You should make her lose her
...
IGNOTO DEO
Antero de Quental
What mortal beauty resembles yours,
O vision which my soul has dreamed
And which reflects in
...
Antero de Quental
What mortal beauty resembles yours,
O vision which my soul has dreamed
And which reflects in
...
II
Antonella Anedda
I didn’t want names for unknown dead
yet I wanted them to exist
I wanted an anonymous
...
Antonella Anedda
I didn’t want names for unknown dead
yet I wanted them to exist
I wanted an anonymous
...
II
Anneke Brassinga
Keep those filthy fingers off – what it is,
To Be, must stay unfathomed, despite its
...
Anneke Brassinga
Keep those filthy fingers off – what it is,
To Be, must stay unfathomed, despite its
...
II. MOBILIZATION FOR LIFE
Taja Kramberger
From a longer poem, ‘Mobilizations’, in three parts
An eccentric, deserter and
...
Taja Kramberger
From a longer poem, ‘Mobilizations’, in three parts
An eccentric, deserter and
...
III
Antonella Anedda
Before supper, before the lamps warm the beds and the trees’
foliage absorbs the dark and the
...
Antonella Anedda
Before supper, before the lamps warm the beds and the trees’
foliage absorbs the dark and the
...
III
Antonella Anedda
To unearth the reason for a verb
because the truth is it’s not time yet
and we don’t know
...
Antonella Anedda
To unearth the reason for a verb
because the truth is it’s not time yet
and we don’t know
...
III
Luis Eduardo Rendón
III
Bell chimes update their nuns habits and car horns their clown costumes
elevators
...
Luis Eduardo Rendón
III
Bell chimes update their nuns habits and car horns their clown costumes
elevators
...
III
Anneke Brassinga
Just as from the wavering screech of the buzzard
for the one listening in the field,
so
...
Anneke Brassinga
Just as from the wavering screech of the buzzard
for the one listening in the field,
so
...
IJMUIDEN
Marije Langelaar
Come together these cells with a form of ambition
slide snakelike through a tube that traps
...
Marije Langelaar
Come together these cells with a form of ambition
slide snakelike through a tube that traps
...
ILLEGIBLE
Gerrit Kouwenaar
Stasis teems, white, why, in what depth
must one see this to ground oneself, dig
...
Gerrit Kouwenaar
Stasis teems, white, why, in what depth
must one see this to ground oneself, dig
...
IMAGINATION: THE MADWOMAN OF THE HOUSE
Raúl Gómez Jattin
He learned at university
a technical approximation to the soul
To a conventional soul of
...
Raúl Gómez Jattin
He learned at university
a technical approximation to the soul
To a conventional soul of
...
IMMANENT SELF-PORTRAIT
Pieter Boskma
It still feels strange getting up in the morning without love,
pushing onwards with a slight
...
Pieter Boskma
It still feels strange getting up in the morning without love,
pushing onwards with a slight
...
IMPOSSIBLE POEM
Eduardo Cote Lamus
Let my touch know you for the last time
because I want to learn your face by heart,
...
Eduardo Cote Lamus
Let my touch know you for the last time
because I want to learn your face by heart,
...
IMPOSSIBLE TO MOVE
Dan Coman
i’m impossible to move, there is nothing inside me
still I’m impossible to move
...
Dan Coman
i’m impossible to move, there is nothing inside me
still I’m impossible to move
...
IMPROVISATION
Adam Zagajewski
You must take up the world’s whole weight
and make it easier to bear.
Toss it like a
...
Adam Zagajewski
You must take up the world’s whole weight
and make it easier to bear.
Toss it like a
...
IN A DREAM
Kazue Shinkawa
In a dream
I was asked the way, and I told him.
He walked off in the direction I
...
Kazue Shinkawa
In a dream
I was asked the way, and I told him.
He walked off in the direction I
...
IN A DREAM SOME TIME AGO I WAS A WOMAN
Zali Gurevitch
In a dream some time ago I was a woman
To the left of the road leading out of Jerusalem
...
Zali Gurevitch
In a dream some time ago I was a woman
To the left of the road leading out of Jerusalem
...
IN A LITTLE APARTMENT
Adam Zagajewski
So in that dusty little apartment in Gliwice,
in a low block in the Soviet style
that
...
Adam Zagajewski
So in that dusty little apartment in Gliwice,
in a low block in the Soviet style
that
...
IN A STATION OF THE METRO
Manuel António Pina
My childhood passed and I was not there.
Thinking of something else, gazing in another
...
Manuel António Pina
My childhood passed and I was not there.
Thinking of something else, gazing in another
...
IN A TORCHED VILLAGE
Edvard Kocbek
I lean on the wall
still hot
from a long fire,
no villagers
no foe around,
the
...
Edvard Kocbek
I lean on the wall
still hot
from a long fire,
no villagers
no foe around,
the
...
IN A TWILIGHT SUBURB
Krešimir Bagić
I was listening to fierce sad stories
In a twilight suburb, stories
Drowned in tics and
...
Krešimir Bagić
I was listening to fierce sad stories
In a twilight suburb, stories
Drowned in tics and
...
IN A WORD
Justyna Bargielska
I’m asking, have they sent off that goddamn corpse,
or not. They write me that they
...
Justyna Bargielska
I’m asking, have they sent off that goddamn corpse,
or not. They write me that they
...
IN ANOTHER TIME
Gastão Cruz
Too many dead for
my memory
The day is here a spotlight on faces
that repeat
...
Gastão Cruz
Too many dead for
my memory
The day is here a spotlight on faces
that repeat
...
IN CAMERA 1
Lucas Malan
Ensconced in Duchess Court she managed to retain
some antique furniture and a precarious
...
Lucas Malan
Ensconced in Duchess Court she managed to retain
some antique furniture and a precarious
...
IN FRONT OF AN OLD X-RAY
Durs Grünbein
The bodies are gone. A posthumous tidiness reigns
In the empty flat, spring-cleaned from the
...
Durs Grünbein
The bodies are gone. A posthumous tidiness reigns
In the empty flat, spring-cleaned from the
...
IN FRONT OF ME THE POT AND RICEPOT AND BURNING FLAMES AND
Rin Ishigaki
There have been for ages
Objects always placed
In front of us women,
A pot of sufficient
...
Rin Ishigaki
There have been for ages
Objects always placed
In front of us women,
A pot of sufficient
...
IN GREAT GOLD LETTERS
Carlos López Degregori
You, since you still have blood and speech, tell me the story I deserve. Write it for me in great
...
Carlos López Degregori
You, since you still have blood and speech, tell me the story I deserve. Write it for me in great
...
IN HASTE – FOR MY BABY
Jiang Hao
I’m poor, but I’m so fond of joy,
of women, of books, of poetry . . . and of
...
Jiang Hao
I’m poor, but I’m so fond of joy,
of women, of books, of poetry . . . and of
...
IN HELL
Najwan Darwish
I.
In the 1930s
it occurred to the Nazis
to put their victims in gas chambers
...
Najwan Darwish
I.
In the 1930s
it occurred to the Nazis
to put their victims in gas chambers
...
IN HER LOVEMAKING SHE GRIEVES
Gagan Gill
In her lovemaking, she grieves
In her grief, she makes love
In her lovemaking, she
...
Gagan Gill
In her lovemaking, she grieves
In her grief, she makes love
In her lovemaking, she
...
IN HER NEIGHBOURHOOD
Giriraj Kiradoo
1.
descending into her body is going from my narrow lane to her wide open square
...
Giriraj Kiradoo
1.
descending into her body is going from my narrow lane to her wide open square
...
IN HIS HAIR MIST DROOPS, HEALER’S-FATIGUED
Marc Kregting
In his hair mist droops, healer’s-fatigued.
Quicksilver mollifies treetops; he combs
...
Marc Kregting
In his hair mist droops, healer’s-fatigued.
Quicksilver mollifies treetops; he combs
...
IN HIS HEAD
Willem van Toorn
1
The fields white with rime. A rich smell of autumn.
Between yard and
...
Willem van Toorn
1
The fields white with rime. A rich smell of autumn.
Between yard and
...
IN HOC SIGNO
Jan de Roek
In this world of listed buildings
of comics, singers, couturiers, travel agencies and
...
Jan de Roek
In this world of listed buildings
of comics, singers, couturiers, travel agencies and
...
IN HOLLAND. . .
J. Slauerhoff
Holland’s no place for me to live,
Raw passion there they can’t forgive.
Whatever would
...
J. Slauerhoff
Holland’s no place for me to live,
Raw passion there they can’t forgive.
Whatever would
...
IN LOUD VOICES
Yang Li
standing on the river bank we shout in loud voices at a person on the other side we don’t know if
...
Yang Li
standing on the river bank we shout in loud voices at a person on the other side we don’t know if
...
IN LOVE
Eddy Van Vliet
That’s the way it goes, the way it was and always will be.
Promising to meet in cafés on
...
Eddy Van Vliet
That’s the way it goes, the way it was and always will be.
Promising to meet in cafés on
...
IN LOVE WITH SKULL
Rajendra Kishore Panda
The heart taken out
after surgery will writhe
for sometime and then go still.
...
Rajendra Kishore Panda
The heart taken out
after surgery will writhe
for sometime and then go still.
...
IN MEMORIAM
Willem van Toorn
I dreamt that you were lying beside me last night.
You were already sick. You said: I am
...
Willem van Toorn
I dreamt that you were lying beside me last night.
You were already sick. You said: I am
...
IN MEMORIAM ADRIAAN MORRIËN
Rogi Wieg
I was determined to say something. In poetic form, that is. You,
in your white suit, a slim
...
Rogi Wieg
I was determined to say something. In poetic form, that is. You,
in your white suit, a slim
...
IN MEMORIAM BRUCE KELLER
Nguyễn Tiên Hoàng
A city is a citadel, a citadel is a soul [ancient], a soul
...
Nguyễn Tiên Hoàng
A city is a citadel, a citadel is a soul [ancient], a soul
...
IN MEMORIAM GEERT VAN OORSCHOT
Rogi Wieg
I once found you, before your death, face down
on your bed. You wore a black suit and a black
...
Rogi Wieg
I once found you, before your death, face down
on your bed. You wore a black suit and a black
...
IN MEMORIAM MYSELF
J. Slauerhoff
By enemies hemmed in,
With ‘friends in need’ who’ve fled
Rank meat that stinks like
...
J. Slauerhoff
By enemies hemmed in,
With ‘friends in need’ who’ve fled
Rank meat that stinks like
...
IN MEMORIAM ROGI WIEG
Rogi Wieg
After 42 years I’m a badly wounded tiger
without stripes, no longer a tiger by William
...
Rogi Wieg
After 42 years I’m a badly wounded tiger
without stripes, no longer a tiger by William
...
IN MEMORY OF RADKA TONEFF
Jan Erik Vold
It’s autumn. Leaves are falling. A friend
drives her car
into the woods,
...
Jan Erik Vold
It’s autumn. Leaves are falling. A friend
drives her car
into the woods,
...
IN MEMORY OF SOME TREES
Shuijing Zhulian
several trees
faraway
enough to make me feel quite flattered
in big cities there’s no
...
Shuijing Zhulian
several trees
faraway
enough to make me feel quite flattered
in big cities there’s no
...
IN MY DEFENCE
Aifric Mac Aodha
Horses’ skulls used to be stashed
Under dance boards long ago:
They enticed echoes from
...
Aifric Mac Aodha
Horses’ skulls used to be stashed
Under dance boards long ago:
They enticed echoes from
...
IN MY MOTHER’S HOUSE
Remco Campert
in the dismantled house
stripped forever of your breath
I hear your voice one last time
...
Remco Campert
in the dismantled house
stripped forever of your breath
I hear your voice one last time
...
IN MY SPARE TIME
Fadhil al-Azzawi
During my long, boring hours of spare time
I sit to play with the earth’s sphere.
I
...
Fadhil al-Azzawi
During my long, boring hours of spare time
I sit to play with the earth’s sphere.
I
...
IN PRAISE OF THE WALNUT
Tatsuji Miyoshi
Its shell is tough, yet
As I roll it in my finger tips I hear a voice
The voice is faint,
...
Tatsuji Miyoshi
Its shell is tough, yet
As I roll it in my finger tips I hear a voice
The voice is faint,
...
IN REACTOR
Aase Berg
The bedrock wrenches its mass and ends up in the right notch. Continental plates topple and are
...
Aase Berg
The bedrock wrenches its mass and ends up in the right notch. Continental plates topple and are
...
IN SILVER MOONLIGHT
Srečko Kosovel
A dark boat floats
in silver moonlight,
from the green harbour
a boatman set
...
Srečko Kosovel
A dark boat floats
in silver moonlight,
from the green harbour
a boatman set
...
IN ST MARY'S HOSPITAL, MANCHESTER
Yao Feng
From white-coloured blankets, you hold out one hand to me
slender, withered, red nails
...
Yao Feng
From white-coloured blankets, you hold out one hand to me
slender, withered, red nails
...
IN SWITZERLAND
Danie Marais
In Lucerne the white swans float
on the glassy turquoise clarity of the Reuss
past
...
Danie Marais
In Lucerne the white swans float
on the glassy turquoise clarity of the Reuss
past
...
IN THE ALPS
Nyk de Vries
The worst is always overshadowed by something even worse. After her leg got run over, we never
...
Nyk de Vries
The worst is always overshadowed by something even worse. After her leg got run over, we never
...
IN THE BASEMENT
Roberto Baronti Marchiò
I discover in the basement
the objects left years ago,
stored away as reminders.
...
Roberto Baronti Marchiò
I discover in the basement
the objects left years ago,
stored away as reminders.
...
IN THE CIRCLE
Chaim Gouri
And they’re returning, it’s already almost quotidian.
There’s no one to stop them.
The
...
Chaim Gouri
And they’re returning, it’s already almost quotidian.
There’s no one to stop them.
The
...
IN THE COMPANY OF MICHELANGELO
Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi
1
The kings who have gone
left us the relics of their forgettable names –
...
Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi
1
The kings who have gone
left us the relics of their forgettable names –
...
IN THE DARK ROOM
Danie Marais
I’ve taken photos of all the distant places
I’ve been without you;
photos to prove how
...
Danie Marais
I’ve taken photos of all the distant places
I’ve been without you;
photos to prove how
...
IN THE DEAD BED
Nano Shabtai
I’m in Tadeusz Kantor’s room
a quarter hour a whole world
we meet in the dead bed
...
Nano Shabtai
I’m in Tadeusz Kantor’s room
a quarter hour a whole world
we meet in the dead bed
...
IN THE DISTANCE
K. Schippers
You lent out things, you want them back,
a book or Nim matchsticks perhaps, you
...
K. Schippers
You lent out things, you want them back,
a book or Nim matchsticks perhaps, you
...
IN THE DOCTOR’S WAITING ROOM, 1974
Áine Uí Fhoghlú
The spin downhill from school on two bikes
was no bother,
an escape.
...
Áine Uí Fhoghlú
The spin downhill from school on two bikes
was no bother,
an escape.
...
IN THE EYE OF THE BIRD THAT FLIES BEFORE YOU
Santiago Barcaza
From the winter a crow keeps
A conversation
Spoken in the same tone
So no one can
...
Santiago Barcaza
From the winter a crow keeps
A conversation
Spoken in the same tone
So no one can
...
IN THE FORMER ROYAL GARDEN
J. Slauerhoff
In the former royal garden
Sad and listless we walk round:
Crumbling statues time won’t
...
J. Slauerhoff
In the former royal garden
Sad and listless we walk round:
Crumbling statues time won’t
...
IN THE GARDEN
Rutger Kopland
When that hole had been dug in the garden,
that cat there still next to it in the grass,
...
Rutger Kopland
When that hole had been dug in the garden,
that cat there still next to it in the grass,
...
IN THE GROUND
Hugo Jamioy Juagibioy
It is not that I am forcing
my son
to hard labor
in the ground;
it is
...
Hugo Jamioy Juagibioy
It is not that I am forcing
my son
to hard labor
in the ground;
it is
...
IN THE HAZY LIGHT
Kunwar Narain
Occasionally, when a flower blooms
the whole forest dotes on it
and in no time, flowers fill
...
Kunwar Narain
Occasionally, when a flower blooms
the whole forest dotes on it
and in no time, flowers fill
...
IN THE JELLYFISH THE SEA CALLS
Tonnus Oosterhoff
O, calls the sea in the jellyfish.
The sea in the jellyfish calls o
...
Tonnus Oosterhoff
O, calls the sea in the jellyfish.
The sea in the jellyfish calls o
...
IN THE MONTH OF ATHYR
Constantine Cavafy
I can just read the inscription on this ancient stone.
“Lo[r]d Jesus Christ.” I make out a
...
Constantine Cavafy
I can just read the inscription on this ancient stone.
“Lo[r]d Jesus Christ.” I make out a
...
IN THE MORNING
Rutger Kopland
There must be something as we go to sleep
we lay down and went to sleep
what
...
Rutger Kopland
There must be something as we go to sleep
we lay down and went to sleep
what
...
IN THE MORNING THE TOOTHBRUSHES STARE AT ME
Nurit Zarchi
In the morning the toothbrushes stare at me,
like children waking up in a strange house.
...
Nurit Zarchi
In the morning the toothbrushes stare at me,
like children waking up in a strange house.
...
IN THE MORNING, WAR BROKE OUT
Song Xiaoxian
in the morning, war broke out
in the afternoon, there was no swimming
because it was still
...
Song Xiaoxian
in the morning, war broke out
in the afternoon, there was no swimming
because it was still
...
IN THE MUSEUM OF MISANTHROPY
Ann Cotten
Pots!
At eye level – Shards!
All these dippers and ideals,
...
Ann Cotten
Pots!
At eye level – Shards!
All these dippers and ideals,
...
IN THE NAME OF THE MOTHERS
Bríd Ní Mhóráin
It is a clear channel
From Brigid, the master-poet,
To Brigid of Kildare,
Donor
...
Bríd Ní Mhóráin
It is a clear channel
From Brigid, the master-poet,
To Brigid of Kildare,
Donor
...
IN THE NAME OF THE SHOUT
Gonzalo Márquez Cristo
You believe so much in the thirst: in life . . . In the invisible. You sleep facing the east. You
...
Gonzalo Márquez Cristo
You believe so much in the thirst: in life . . . In the invisible. You sleep facing the east. You
...
IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF MY CHILDHOOD
Rafi Weichert
Again the words climb
as if I were seeing
the dark green field of
...
Rafi Weichert
Again the words climb
as if I were seeing
the dark green field of
...
IN THE NET
Slavko Jendričko
The letter is before the one from yesterday
and it hasn’t dawned yet.
I open a web
...
Slavko Jendričko
The letter is before the one from yesterday
and it hasn’t dawned yet.
I open a web
...
IN THE OWL PENINSULA
Goenawan Mohamad
There always arrive in the Owl Peninsula
waves that scramble for borders
unknown
...
Goenawan Mohamad
There always arrive in the Owl Peninsula
waves that scramble for borders
unknown
...
IN THE PORT OF SANTA LUCÍA
Julián Malatesta
This ship is crazy.
Yesterday it was seen due south,
Later we saw it sailing in the wake of
...
Julián Malatesta
This ship is crazy.
Yesterday it was seen due south,
Later we saw it sailing in the wake of
...
IN THE POSE OF A QUESTION MARK
Valzhyna Mort
How hard it is to draw ourselves up
from the pose of a question mark
into the pose of an
...
Valzhyna Mort
How hard it is to draw ourselves up
from the pose of a question mark
into the pose of an
...
IN THE PROVINCES 1
Durs Grünbein
(Normandy)
The body of a dead dog lies
Slumped on a railway embankment,
...
Durs Grünbein
(Normandy)
The body of a dead dog lies
Slumped on a railway embankment,
...
IN THE PROVINCES 2
Durs Grünbein
(In Gotland)
From a distance, this was all there was to see,
An undulating
...
Durs Grünbein
(In Gotland)
From a distance, this was all there was to see,
An undulating
...
IN THE PROVINCES 3
Durs Grünbein
(Bohemia)
The stillness around the dead mole
By the side of a wheatfield is
...
Durs Grünbein
(Bohemia)
The stillness around the dead mole
By the side of a wheatfield is
...
IN THE PROVINCES 4
Durs Grünbein
(Campagna)
A cruciform frog
Lay flattened against the hot macadam
Of the
...
Durs Grünbein
(Campagna)
A cruciform frog
Lay flattened against the hot macadam
Of the
...
IN THE PROVINCES 5
Durs Grünbein
(near Aquincum)
As though brushed by the cart of a fleeing settler,
The dead
...
Durs Grünbein
(near Aquincum)
As though brushed by the cart of a fleeing settler,
The dead
...
IN THE RAINY SEASON
Fernando Charry Lara
A rainy afternoon, light among the slow
Clouds, the air livid,
The shelters bare, the bodies
...
Fernando Charry Lara
A rainy afternoon, light among the slow
Clouds, the air livid,
The shelters bare, the bodies
...
IN THE RESTAURANT
Remco Campert
Young woman with a gold headscarf
strange black swan rarely spotted
in the ice-hole of
...
Remco Campert
Young woman with a gold headscarf
strange black swan rarely spotted
in the ice-hole of
...
IN THE ROOM
Vahe Arsen
In the room there is only smoke
from a bullet. Rooms
are never complete. One room is
...
Vahe Arsen
In the room there is only smoke
from a bullet. Rooms
are never complete. One room is
...
IN THE SANATORIUM FOR TREES
Veerankutty
There is no place like the sanatorium for trees
To serve your probation.
The moon
...
Veerankutty
There is no place like the sanatorium for trees
To serve your probation.
The moon
...
IN THE SCHOOL TOILETS
Fang Xianhai
I push the door to
three rubbishy students are smoking in the toilets
the fug is so
...
Fang Xianhai
I push the door to
three rubbishy students are smoking in the toilets
the fug is so
...
IN THE SNARE OF THE NOSTRILS
Linda Maria Baros
Dawn is a woman
who breaks your windows with her breasts
– reddened are the nipples
...
Linda Maria Baros
Dawn is a woman
who breaks your windows with her breasts
– reddened are the nipples
...
IN THE SUPERMARKET
Agi Mishol
Through the supermarket alleys I push a cart
as if I were the mother of two heads of
...
Agi Mishol
Through the supermarket alleys I push a cart
as if I were the mother of two heads of
...
IN THE TRAIN WINDOW
Israel Pincas
It was someone else
in the window of the train to Ashford or Hastings,
a man in gray, I
...
Israel Pincas
It was someone else
in the window of the train to Ashford or Hastings,
a man in gray, I
...
IN THE TRAP
Najwan Darwish
The mouse in the trap says:
History is not on my side
the reptiles are all agents of
...
Najwan Darwish
The mouse in the trap says:
History is not on my side
the reptiles are all agents of
...
IN THE TUNNEL, IN THE BONE
Wadih Sa’adeh
Soon time will end.
Winds are approaching the immense wall.
And there they will buckle
...
Wadih Sa’adeh
Soon time will end.
Winds are approaching the immense wall.
And there they will buckle
...
IN THE WINDOW, AT THE TINY
Nico Bleutge
view frame: the dried oil
on the benches. beneath it the hard
cracked soil the ochre of
...
Nico Bleutge
view frame: the dried oil
on the benches. beneath it the hard
cracked soil the ochre of
...
IN THE WORDS OF MUSURUKUTU
Ruy Duarte de Carvalho
They made me king to run the war
and I invested myself
with the blood of the race.
...
Ruy Duarte de Carvalho
They made me king to run the war
and I invested myself
with the blood of the race.
...
IN THE YEAR ONE, THAT WAS
Lutz Seiler
scraping on the ground, scratched up
silence &
folded by death: winter flies.
...
Lutz Seiler
scraping on the ground, scratched up
silence &
folded by death: winter flies.
...
IN THE YEAR TO COME, IN THE DAYS TO COME
Dahlia Ravikovitch
My mother lies in bed, trying to die.
...
Dahlia Ravikovitch
My mother lies in bed, trying to die.
...
IN THOSE DAYS WE LIVED ON SELLING NEWSPAPERS
Tatjana Gromača
There were happy days then
when I’d sell them all in a few hours.
Then with a bag full of
...
Tatjana Gromača
There were happy days then
when I’d sell them all in a few hours.
Then with a bag full of
...
IN WHICH THE POET CELEBRATES HIS TWENTY-FIVE-YEAR-OLD LOVER
Ricardo Domeneck
Wars
have outlasted your
years.
Congratulations on your success
today
...
Ricardo Domeneck
Wars
have outlasted your
years.
Congratulations on your success
today
...
INABILITY
Kamlesh
Seeing you off at the edge of the city, leaving forest trees behind
wandering about in
...
Kamlesh
Seeing you off at the edge of the city, leaving forest trees behind
wandering about in
...
INCOMPLETE SILENCE
Lêdo Ivo
What an incomplete silence among so many sounds!
Now, and only now, they are trying to tell
...
Lêdo Ivo
What an incomplete silence among so many sounds!
Now, and only now, they are trying to tell
...
INDEFINITE SONG XXII
Teixeira de Pascoaes
Fraternal things, cosmic memory
Of the divine hope
Which expands in an infinite thrust
And
...
Teixeira de Pascoaes
Fraternal things, cosmic memory
Of the divine hope
Which expands in an infinite thrust
And
...
INDUSTRIAL ZONES
Zheng Xiaoqiong
Lamps burn bright, buildings burn bright, machines burn bright
Fatigue burns bright,
...
Zheng Xiaoqiong
Lamps burn bright, buildings burn bright, machines burn bright
Fatigue burns bright,
...
INEDIBLE
Gerrit Kouwenaar
This is while one is elsewhere, no eye
has seen this that isn’t closed
...
Gerrit Kouwenaar
This is while one is elsewhere, no eye
has seen this that isn’t closed
...
INEXHAUSTIBLE
Hédi Kaddour
You start with sapwood between syntax and
Weeping willows, but words know the world
And
...
Hédi Kaddour
You start with sapwood between syntax and
Weeping willows, but words know the world
And
...
INFINITIVE
Zvonko Maković
When things are moved
only shadows remain.
Enforced silence,
cold air.
I told you I
...
Zvonko Maković
When things are moved
only shadows remain.
Enforced silence,
cold air.
I told you I
...
INGREDIENTS OF SLEEPLESSNESS
Uwe Kolbe
It was the gnat, I heard it.
And it was – didn’t the grass grow there
between two
...
Uwe Kolbe
It was the gnat, I heard it.
And it was – didn’t the grass grow there
between two
...
INHABITANTS
Umberto Fiori
The sun high up
and below the rising smoke,
the piazza and the walls in shade:
this
...
Umberto Fiori
The sun high up
and below the rising smoke,
the piazza and the walls in shade:
this
...
INHABITED BODY
Eugénio de Andrade
Body on a horizon of water,
body open
to the slow intoxication of fingers,
body
...
Eugénio de Andrade
Body on a horizon of water,
body open
to the slow intoxication of fingers,
body
...
INHABITED SPACE
Eugenia Sánchez Nieto
Someone moves discreetly in the night
he smokes deeply while the sound of a harmonica
...
Eugenia Sánchez Nieto
Someone moves discreetly in the night
he smokes deeply while the sound of a harmonica
...
INHERITANCE
Aryeh Sivan
My dead relatives bequeathed me many shirts.
I have no doubt that I will never manage
to
...
Aryeh Sivan
My dead relatives bequeathed me many shirts.
I have no doubt that I will never manage
to
...
INSCRIPTION, CONS.
Delimir Rešicki
when I take off my shoes,
moonshine rots in your shoulder.
europe has a new
...
Delimir Rešicki
when I take off my shoes,
moonshine rots in your shoulder.
europe has a new
...
INSIDE THIS SHANTY
Prabhat
There’s so much space left inside this shanty
that twenty people could stand here
But I
...
Prabhat
There’s so much space left inside this shanty
that twenty people could stand here
But I
...
INSIGNIA OF BLOOD
Mallika Sengupta
Man, I've never raised my arms against you
Slitting the hair-parting the day you drew
...
Mallika Sengupta
Man, I've never raised my arms against you
Slitting the hair-parting the day you drew
...
INSOMNIA 3
Bernard Dewulf
(Dearest)
How do we converge. The night makes many bodies
and there is just one. I
...
Bernard Dewulf
(Dearest)
How do we converge. The night makes many bodies
and there is just one. I
...
INSTALLING YOU MY LORD
Admiel Kosman
Installing You my Lord, in da middle of the night.
Installing You and all
...
Admiel Kosman
Installing You my Lord, in da middle of the night.
Installing You and all
...
INSTANTANEOUS
Liana Mejía
Thoughts of sand
dissolve
under the midday drowsiness.
The monotonous sound of
...
Liana Mejía
Thoughts of sand
dissolve
under the midday drowsiness.
The monotonous sound of
...
INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE COINCIDENCE
Cecilie Løveid
The bed is filled with cement dust
We dream of a change
The chair is covered in
...
Cecilie Løveid
The bed is filled with cement dust
We dream of a change
The chair is covered in
...
INTERIOR LANDSCAPE
Fernando Denis
Aged in the barracks of memory,
In the infernos of Piranesi,
I meditate on the colors
...
Fernando Denis
Aged in the barracks of memory,
In the infernos of Piranesi,
I meditate on the colors
...
INTERMEZZO
Hrvoje Pejakovic
Cheerfully hiding the fact that the ugly birds are close, you are coming into the unlocked state
...
Hrvoje Pejakovic
Cheerfully hiding the fact that the ugly birds are close, you are coming into the unlocked state
...
INTERPRETATIONS
Mourid Barghouti
A poet sits in a coffee shop, writing.
The old lady
thinks he is writing a letter to his
...
Mourid Barghouti
A poet sits in a coffee shop, writing.
The old lady
thinks he is writing a letter to his
...
INTIMACY
Shuijing Zhulian
it’s been ages since we’ve lain down together
relishing a fine cool breeze blowing in through
...
Shuijing Zhulian
it’s been ages since we’ve lain down together
relishing a fine cool breeze blowing in through
...
INTIMATE BESTIARY
Mirta Rosenberg
If someone wanted to be a tortoise
it would be me:
to fashion from a conical section
...
Mirta Rosenberg
If someone wanted to be a tortoise
it would be me:
to fashion from a conical section
...
INTIMATE LYRICISM
Slavko Jendričko
When I first ran away from home
you buried the seed of death under the pillow
and took
...
Slavko Jendričko
When I first ran away from home
you buried the seed of death under the pillow
and took
...
INTIMATE STROKE
Amparo Osorio
Like an exile
in the place of never
someone naked will inhabit the star,
will lay
...
Amparo Osorio
Like an exile
in the place of never
someone naked will inhabit the star,
will lay
...
INTOLERANCES
Andrea Cote
It is not the same thing to say I forgive
the long wait,
the quiet,
the grief,
the
...
Andrea Cote
It is not the same thing to say I forgive
the long wait,
the quiet,
the grief,
the
...
INTRUDER
Eva Cox
One day she was sitting at table. She smelt odd and I didn’t know her. She sat there like a young
...
Eva Cox
One day she was sitting at table. She smelt odd and I didn’t know her. She sat there like a young
...
INVENTORY OF AIR
Andrea Inglese
It’s snowing pollen now and shining like manna
on mountains of flaming ocher, it’s
...
Andrea Inglese
It’s snowing pollen now and shining like manna
on mountains of flaming ocher, it’s
...
INVENTORY OF LOST FLESH
Andrea Inglese
Shark flesh on the greasy pole of Cockaigne
at the gallows of sausage and boars
climbing onto
...
Andrea Inglese
Shark flesh on the greasy pole of Cockaigne
at the gallows of sausage and boars
climbing onto
...
INVISIBLE CONNECTIONS I THE SUN AND ABSENCE
Masayo Koike
The rays of the setting sun
Shone down on a single house
The way it shone
That
...
Masayo Koike
The rays of the setting sun
Shone down on a single house
The way it shone
That
...
INVISIBLE CONNECTIONS II THE BIRD AND THE BRANCH
Masayo Koike
Onto the elm tree
A bird alighted
In the atmosphere
Silently time passed by a matter
...
Masayo Koike
Onto the elm tree
A bird alighted
In the atmosphere
Silently time passed by a matter
...
INVISIBLE CONNECTIONS III THE LIFE OF RAIN
Masayo Koike
Rain fell in a mass
A body of rain but it was not noisy
Rain, so called collectively
...
Masayo Koike
Rain fell in a mass
A body of rain but it was not noisy
Rain, so called collectively
...
INVISIBLE CONNECTIONS IV THE BIRTH OF THE WIND
Masayo Koike
From one side to the other
Just like a piece of cloth completely caught by the wind
I
...
Masayo Koike
From one side to the other
Just like a piece of cloth completely caught by the wind
I
...
INVISIBLE EYES
Dane Zajc
Lions are rising.
Rested lions rise in tall grass.
They plant their heavy paws upon the
...
Dane Zajc
Lions are rising.
Rested lions rise in tall grass.
They plant their heavy paws upon the
...
INVISIBLE STARS
Gustavo Adolfo Garcés
There are nights
in which one discovers
the stairs
the door
and the lock
...
Gustavo Adolfo Garcés
There are nights
in which one discovers
the stairs
the door
and the lock
...
INVOCATION
Juan Diego Tamayo
I return to the ancient language
of my visions
To the sacrament of truth
...
Juan Diego Tamayo
I return to the ancient language
of my visions
To the sacrament of truth
...
INVOCATION
Vrouwkje Tuinman
There has to be a country where you’re not required
to sit around in circles holding
...
Vrouwkje Tuinman
There has to be a country where you’re not required
to sit around in circles holding
...
INVOCATION TO THE RAIN
Armando Romero
Tell me if it starts to rain
and a big drop like a sun plummets
coming from heaven’s palm in
...
Armando Romero
Tell me if it starts to rain
and a big drop like a sun plummets
coming from heaven’s palm in
...
IRAQIS AND OTHER MONSTERS
Dunya Mikhail
They are scary beings.
They have dark, dangling heads.
They roam the desert
in
...
Dunya Mikhail
They are scary beings.
They have dark, dangling heads.
They roam the desert
in
...
IRELAND, 1999
Ariel Zinder
I gazed at the beer glass. I could have sworn
Weeds had sprouted from its sides.
I
...
Ariel Zinder
I gazed at the beer glass. I could have sworn
Weeds had sprouted from its sides.
I
...
IRINA
Claudiu Komartin
I remember a brick house
and a long alley descending toward a courtyard in shadow
where
...
Claudiu Komartin
I remember a brick house
and a long alley descending toward a courtyard in shadow
where
...
IRISH PUB
Santiago Barcaza
The Other
Expressing himself as he tends to do
But it was myself
At the same
...
Santiago Barcaza
The Other
Expressing himself as he tends to do
But it was myself
At the same
...
IRON NAILS
Zheng Xiaoqiong
How much love, how much pain, how many nails
Pin me to the machine table, blueprint, order
...
Zheng Xiaoqiong
How much love, how much pain, how many nails
Pin me to the machine table, blueprint, order
...
IRRGARTEN
Willem van Toorn
‘If here, o courtier, guest, you wish to escape
from death, think a little before you begin
...
Willem van Toorn
‘If here, o courtier, guest, you wish to escape
from death, think a little before you begin
...
IS EVERYTHING SECRET?
Andrea Gibellini
You follow the channel between dangerous balustrades,
squashing leeches that cling
...
Andrea Gibellini
You follow the channel between dangerous balustrades,
squashing leeches that cling
...
IS THAT REALLY SOMETHING
Paul Bogaert
He throws her on the bed, it has to be done,
the polo neck must come off,
the rest as
...
Paul Bogaert
He throws her on the bed, it has to be done,
the polo neck must come off,
the rest as
...
ISAAC AND ABRAHAM
Chirikure Chirikure
(on the advent of ESAP)
Father, I don’t understand –
You knock on my
...
Chirikure Chirikure
(on the advent of ESAP)
Father, I don’t understand –
You knock on my
...
ISABELLA SLEEPS WITH THE DOGS
Tahel Frosh
Isabella asked where are the dogs
she slept with dogs dreamt dogs
in a raging storm,
...
Tahel Frosh
Isabella asked where are the dogs
she slept with dogs dreamt dogs
in a raging storm,
...
ISLAM
Serhiy Zhadan
your morning begins with islam
with beads sewn into women’s skin
and gold dusk in the
...
Serhiy Zhadan
your morning begins with islam
with beads sewn into women’s skin
and gold dusk in the
...
ISLAND
Uroš Zupan
The sea and the horizon fight all day.
The smells of eucalyptus, sage and rosemary
are
...
Uroš Zupan
The sea and the horizon fight all day.
The smells of eucalyptus, sage and rosemary
are
...
ISLAND MOUNTAIN GLACIER (EXCERPT)
Anne Vegter
I
Even when you wake up over a death zone and you strap your kids in tight as belts: let
...
Anne Vegter
I
Even when you wake up over a death zone and you strap your kids in tight as belts: let
...
ISOLATION
Gordana Benić
Nothing in this room is mine.
When I close my eyes the walls move apart, slant
into thin
...
Gordana Benić
Nothing in this room is mine.
When I close my eyes the walls move apart, slant
into thin
...
ISTANBUL
Maria Barnas
The streaming men the meandering women
and the splashing children are lost as in a dream.
...
Maria Barnas
The streaming men the meandering women
and the splashing children are lost as in a dream.
...
IT AFFIRMS THAT THERE IS A CHILD
Vinod Kumar Shukla
It affirms that there is a child
It affirms that a smattering of flowers is blooming
It
...
Vinod Kumar Shukla
It affirms that there is a child
It affirms that a smattering of flowers is blooming
It
...
IT CAN’T BE COMPARED TO SIBERIA
Shulamit Apfel
I squeeze a lemon
continue to complain
and drink another tea
this poem is killing
...
Shulamit Apfel
I squeeze a lemon
continue to complain
and drink another tea
this poem is killing
...
IT FELT AS IF SOMEONE CAME IN
Piotr Sommer
It felt as if someone came in
silently, but through a door that creaked.
I didn’t get up,
...
Piotr Sommer
It felt as if someone came in
silently, but through a door that creaked.
I didn’t get up,
...
IT IS PINK
Anka Zagar
this nightgown is younger than me
this is my flower, before I die
I’ll shake off all pages
...
Anka Zagar
this nightgown is younger than me
this is my flower, before I die
I’ll shake off all pages
...
IT IS RAINING ON THE FREDERIKSPLEIN
Maria Barnas
She is standing on the edge of what is just
about to happen and the surrounding trees
...
Maria Barnas
She is standing on the edge of what is just
about to happen and the surrounding trees
...
IT IS THURSDAY AND SHE SINGS
Miguel Iriarte
Everything is quiet under the yellow cloak of high noon
It is Thursday and it seems the world
...
Miguel Iriarte
Everything is quiet under the yellow cloak of high noon
It is Thursday and it seems the world
...
IT MAY HAVE BEEN OPHELIA'S FAVOURITE JELLYFISH
Silke Scheuermann
It came drifting up on the east wind
Shapeless Barely more than the question
what it was
...
Silke Scheuermann
It came drifting up on the east wind
Shapeless Barely more than the question
what it was
...
IT SWAYS IN THE WIND
Srečko Kosovel
My life sways in the wind
like leaves on a trellis
in a bright stormy
autumn
...
Srečko Kosovel
My life sways in the wind
like leaves on a trellis
in a bright stormy
autumn
...
IT WAS NOT EASY
Eventhough Ndlovu
You were crying, whining like a sickly infant
You thought you were earning but you became
...
Eventhough Ndlovu
You were crying, whining like a sickly infant
You thought you were earning but you became
...
IT WILL BE EVENING…
Claude Esteban
It will be evening, the same
evening hour, the doves
will begin to light on the
...
Claude Esteban
It will be evening, the same
evening hour, the doves
will begin to light on the
...
IT’S NO USE
Najwan Darwish
It’s no use hiding and locking the doors
Moving into buildings where no one could know
...
Najwan Darwish
It’s no use hiding and locking the doors
Moving into buildings where no one could know
...
IT’S NONE OF THOSE SWEET WATERMELONS
Justyna Bargielska
That’s him. That isn’t. Can you see that woman?
I see her, too, but from within.
...
Justyna Bargielska
That’s him. That isn’t. Can you see that woman?
I see her, too, but from within.
...
IT'S MORNING
Shuntaro Tanikawa
First I stretch myself in bed
I rise up in one breath
I go take a pee
I fetch
...
Shuntaro Tanikawa
First I stretch myself in bed
I rise up in one breath
I go take a pee
I fetch
...
ITHACA
Margarita Cardona
Facing the sea
Wing-fast
I feel the coming of the opening
Music
In a washing
...
Margarita Cardona
Facing the sea
Wing-fast
I feel the coming of the opening
Music
In a washing
...
ITINERARY
Nuno Júdice
I went to delft, looking for ceramics.
I went to ceramics, looking for delft.
On the
...
Nuno Júdice
I went to delft, looking for ceramics.
I went to ceramics, looking for delft.
On the
...
IT'S ALL THERE, EVERYTHING
Mark Boog
It’s all there, everything, but not wholeheartedly. It
apologises: every painter would have
...
Mark Boog
It’s all there, everything, but not wholeheartedly. It
apologises: every painter would have
...
IT'S ALSO FINE
Mourid Barghouti
It’s also fine to die in our beds
on a clean pillow
and among our friends.
It’s fine
...
Mourid Barghouti
It’s also fine to die in our beds
on a clean pillow
and among our friends.
It’s fine
...
IT'S YOU
Ticha Muzavazi
It’s you who followed the girl in the valley,
grabbed her by the shoulders,
dragged her
...
Ticha Muzavazi
It’s you who followed the girl in the valley,
grabbed her by the shoulders,
dragged her
...
IT’S ALL IN MY HANDS
Saroop Dhruv
In a moment
the city turns to pebble, stone, dagger, razor
ruin, spark, flame, ash
...
Saroop Dhruv
In a moment
the city turns to pebble, stone, dagger, razor
ruin, spark, flame, ash
...
IT’S BEAUTIFUL IN SICILY IN THE SPRING WHEN THE LEMON TREES ARE IN BLOOM
Tua Forsström
I’m writing because I attended
your concert, it was the sixteenth
of September. You
...
Tua Forsström
I’m writing because I attended
your concert, it was the sixteenth
of September. You
...
IT’S ME SPEAKING
Yudit Shahar
Hello, customer service, it’s me speaking,
yes, how may I help you?
I’m sorry ma’am, I
...
Yudit Shahar
Hello, customer service, it’s me speaking,
yes, how may I help you?
I’m sorry ma’am, I
...
IV
Antonella Anedda
She was running towards a shelter, she shielded her head.
She belonged to a weary image
...
Antonella Anedda
She was running towards a shelter, she shielded her head.
She belonged to a weary image
...
IV
Slađan Lipovec
in this town anxiety bounces
off the porous walls at night
streets wrap around the
...
Slađan Lipovec
in this town anxiety bounces
off the porous walls at night
streets wrap around the
...
IV
Anneke Brassinga
The air retains our movements,
raises a hurricane
out of that single breath, your
...
Anneke Brassinga
The air retains our movements,
raises a hurricane
out of that single breath, your
...
IX
Santiago Mutis Durán
You were not one of those boys that kill birds
you did not like to sense the stone
...
Santiago Mutis Durán
You were not one of those boys that kill birds
you did not like to sense the stone
...
IX
Alberto Vélez
All nakedness is shipwreck:
You leave land and fall into a borderless country.
The other
...
Alberto Vélez
All nakedness is shipwreck:
You leave land and fall into a borderless country.
The other
...
I'M A SAGITTARIAN
Fang Xianhai
I look up
but I'm no lover of starry skies
sharp bits of broken glass everywhere
...
Fang Xianhai
I look up
but I'm no lover of starry skies
sharp bits of broken glass everywhere
...
I'M EXPLAINING A FEW THINGS
Pablo Neruda
You are going to ask: and where are the lilacs?
and the poppy-petalled metaphysics ?
...
Pablo Neruda
You are going to ask: and where are the lilacs?
and the poppy-petalled metaphysics ?
...
I'M MAKING A TEXT
Branko Maleš
the fist that closes and then opens
that’s the pump that’s the heart-the muscle-fat
...
Branko Maleš
the fist that closes and then opens
that’s the pump that’s the heart-the muscle-fat
...
I'M PRINCE TO THE POEM
Solomon Ibn Gabirol
I’m prince to the poem my slave,
I’m harp to the court musicians,
my song is
...
Solomon Ibn Gabirol
I’m prince to the poem my slave,
I’m harp to the court musicians,
my song is
...
I´VE LOOKED SO MUCH…
Constantine Cavafy
I’ve looked on beauty so much
that my vision overflows with it.
The body’s lines.
...
Constantine Cavafy
I’ve looked on beauty so much
that my vision overflows with it.
The body’s lines.
...
I’LL NEVER BE YOUR MAGGIE MAY
Albertina Soepboer
Ditchwater by the refinery, white light
when I woke in the morning and saw it.
The spaces
...
Albertina Soepboer
Ditchwater by the refinery, white light
when I woke in the morning and saw it.
The spaces
...
I’M AFRAID
María Mercedes Carranza
Look at me: fear inhabits me.
Behind these serene eyes, in this body that loves: fear.
...
María Mercedes Carranza
Look at me: fear inhabits me.
Behind these serene eyes, in this body that loves: fear.
...
I’M NOT AFRAID OF ANYONE: I’M A LAW-ABIDING CITIZEN!
Yi Sha
every time I go for a walk
and see an armoured van
parked outside the bank
I stop
...
Yi Sha
every time I go for a walk
and see an armoured van
parked outside the bank
I stop
...
I’VE BEEN KISSED
Yumlembam Ibomcha Singh
Shadows of pupils
from the water
kissed me again and again.
I’m still crying today
...
Yumlembam Ibomcha Singh
Shadows of pupils
from the water
kissed me again and again.
I’m still crying today
...
I’VE BROUGHT THIS SUMMER JUST FOR YOU
Kutti Revathi
Your chest’s meadow has dried up
You don’t write letters these days
There’s a tumult of
...
Kutti Revathi
Your chest’s meadow has dried up
You don’t write letters these days
There’s a tumult of
...
I’VE BROUGHT TO ART
Constantine Cavafy
I sit in a mood of reverie.
I brought to Art desires and sensations:
things
...
Constantine Cavafy
I sit in a mood of reverie.
I brought to Art desires and sensations:
things
...
I’VE COME TO SHOOT GEESE, SEE A LADY AND TELL LIES ABOUT MYSELF
Aung Cheimt
1.
As you say
I spit out half of the spit
And swallow the other half
Now
...
Aung Cheimt
1.
As you say
I spit out half of the spit
And swallow the other half
Now
...
• recently added• original language
Subscribe to the newsletter
Follow us (international) Follow us (Dutch)