L
Uljana Wolf
in my throat there sits a lump that clumps every lay into a lie. if i cry out: it's he who
...
Uljana Wolf
in my throat there sits a lump that clumps every lay into a lie. if i cry out: it's he who
...
LA LANTERNA
Arjen Duinker
Is it cruel to eat,
To eat what someone makes up,
Who has come from the mountains
To
...
Arjen Duinker
Is it cruel to eat,
To eat what someone makes up,
Who has come from the mountains
To
...
LA PALLIDA MORTE
Odysseus Elytis
Odourless yet like blossom
Death is grasped through the
Nostrils. Square silent
...
Odysseus Elytis
Odourless yet like blossom
Death is grasped through the
Nostrils. Square silent
...
LABOR PAINS
Valerio Magrelli
Presence and absence.
Geological mutation.
Me yielding under his weight.
...
Valerio Magrelli
Presence and absence.
Geological mutation.
Me yielding under his weight.
...
LACKING
Kazue Shinkawa
I am
a vessel with no lid
like an odd bowl or a deep dish
thrown away in a vacant
...
Kazue Shinkawa
I am
a vessel with no lid
like an odd bowl or a deep dish
thrown away in a vacant
...
LACQUER
Tomaž Šalamun
Destiny rolls over me. Sometimes like an egg. Sometimes
with its paws, slamming me into the
...
Tomaž Šalamun
Destiny rolls over me. Sometimes like an egg. Sometimes
with its paws, slamming me into the
...
LADY
Briceida Cuevas Cob
Lady,
your breasts are two little girls jostling each other in play when you wash.
...
Briceida Cuevas Cob
Lady,
your breasts are two little girls jostling each other in play when you wash.
...
LAFCADIO
Franco Buffoni
The Vatican Church with reference to this
– Secret secreted by its murky lips- –
...
Franco Buffoni
The Vatican Church with reference to this
– Secret secreted by its murky lips- –
...
LAGERFELD
Volker Braun
Rome: an open city A lager
Down the catwalk troop the fashions
Of the millennium,
...
Volker Braun
Rome: an open city A lager
Down the catwalk troop the fashions
Of the millennium,
...
LAMB
Tatsuji Miyoshi
Lamb,
you prick up your ears to the blue of the sea, leap over the surrounding fence
...
Tatsuji Miyoshi
Lamb,
you prick up your ears to the blue of the sea, leap over the surrounding fence
...
LAMENT
Geert Buelens
The united textile mills en marche
Lament
The aorta & the arse & the hole
Lament
The
...
Geert Buelens
The united textile mills en marche
Lament
The aorta & the arse & the hole
Lament
The
...
LAMENT
Toshio Nakae
I did not know then when I was capturing and killing bugs like a god,
when I was scampering
...
Toshio Nakae
I did not know then when I was capturing and killing bugs like a god,
when I was scampering
...
LAMENT OF THE MAN WHO MISSES BEING BLIND
Alexandre O’Neill
When I was blind I was famed
(what a lucrative game!)
for being able to tell the
...
Alexandre O’Neill
When I was blind I was famed
(what a lucrative game!)
for being able to tell the
...
LAMENTATION OF THE BORDERGUARD
Gali-Dana Singer
I do not want to be a borderguard, said the borderguard.
I don’t want to be a bodyguard.
...
Gali-Dana Singer
I do not want to be a borderguard, said the borderguard.
I don’t want to be a bodyguard.
...
LAMPS
Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi
In the water
in silence at your side
in a fire that draws us close
I drift –
...
Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi
In the water
in silence at your side
in a fire that draws us close
I drift –
...
LAND
Antjie Krog
under orders from my ancestors you were occupied
had I language I could write for you were land
...
Antjie Krog
under orders from my ancestors you were occupied
had I language I could write for you were land
...
LAND
Ruth Lasters
Can you save ‘together’? Can you by doing much intensely as a couple
protect the
...
Ruth Lasters
Can you save ‘together’? Can you by doing much intensely as a couple
protect the
...
LAND AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE
Alfred Schaffer
And then the curtain rises, the little red word EXIT reassures us.
Once more you concentrate on
...
Alfred Schaffer
And then the curtain rises, the little red word EXIT reassures us.
Once more you concentrate on
...
LANDLORD
Tomas Lieske
Why do I find you attractive? I listen at your door.
I let your clothes run through my hands
...
Tomas Lieske
Why do I find you attractive? I listen at your door.
I let your clothes run through my hands
...
LANDMINE
Angshuman Kar
Some persons just by staying alive cause us discomfort. Such a man does not harm us, does not
...
Angshuman Kar
Some persons just by staying alive cause us discomfort. Such a man does not harm us, does not
...
LANDSCAPE OF FARM RENTAL INCOME
Slavko Jendričko
how gorgeous the morning landscape
of farm rental income
to the fire-flies
in
...
Slavko Jendričko
how gorgeous the morning landscape
of farm rental income
to the fire-flies
in
...
LANDSCAPE WITH FATHER
Willem van Toorn
Sprawled flat on your back
you’ve become the hills, the banks
of scrub and stubbly
...
Willem van Toorn
Sprawled flat on your back
you’ve become the hills, the banks
of scrub and stubbly
...
LANDSCAPES
T. Carmi
1.
One white bird on a green river, two
and then three.
One electric pole, two,
...
T. Carmi
1.
One white bird on a green river, two
and then three.
One electric pole, two,
...
LANDSCAPES ON THIS HERE SEA OF THE CONDOTTIERE, QUITE ELEGANT IN ITS BEAUTY, SO MUCH SO THAT IT WAS EASY TO CONFUSE WITH THAT OTHER THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT HAD STAMPED ON GOLD COINS, WHERE YOU COULD SEE THE MARQUIS OF OVIEDO, BETTER KNOWN BY THE NAME OF DO
Álvaro Miranda
Nothing sighted in the Atlantic.
The pirate lovers of Isabella
sleep away the secrets
...
Álvaro Miranda
Nothing sighted in the Atlantic.
The pirate lovers of Isabella
sleep away the secrets
...
LANGUAGE
Shachar Mario Mordechai
I am snared in the language trap
between strong emotion and a lazy tongue
I
...
Shachar Mario Mordechai
I am snared in the language trap
between strong emotion and a lazy tongue
I
...
LANGUAGE MACHINE
Geert van Istendael
1
Speak, city, speak!
Stretch your countless tongues up to the sky,
lick the
...
Geert van Istendael
1
Speak, city, speak!
Stretch your countless tongues up to the sky,
lick the
...
LANGUAGE SAYS
Amir Or
Language says: Before Language
there stands a language. Language is tainted
...
Amir Or
Language says: Before Language
there stands a language. Language is tainted
...
LAPWINGS
Cristóbal Joannon
The author’s willful over-insistencies
couldn’t save this poem. Vague, casting
...
Cristóbal Joannon
The author’s willful over-insistencies
couldn’t save this poem. Vague, casting
...
LARGE AS THE WORLD
Malathi Maithri
By some turn, obscure, of the season,
Each part of my body turned
Into an animal or bird;
...
Malathi Maithri
By some turn, obscure, of the season,
Each part of my body turned
Into an animal or bird;
...
LAST NIGHT I CAME ACROSS MY PARENTS
Hagar Peeters
Last night I came across my parents,
two pallid figures that inclined towards
each other in
...
Hagar Peeters
Last night I came across my parents,
two pallid figures that inclined towards
each other in
...
LAST WORD
Robin Ngangom
What kind of a poet is he, they ask.
I said: “I am a poet of earth and space,
possibly
...
Robin Ngangom
What kind of a poet is he, they ask.
I said: “I am a poet of earth and space,
possibly
...
LAST WORDS
Heiichi Sugiyama
She was trapped under the rubble of a building.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t afford a big
...
Heiichi Sugiyama
She was trapped under the rubble of a building.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t afford a big
...
LATE AT NIGHT
Carlos Bedoya
Water in the roots
of the day’s arduous collar
Crystal vessel
plunging in the
...
Carlos Bedoya
Water in the roots
of the day’s arduous collar
Crystal vessel
plunging in the
...
LATE CELAN
Hrvoje Pejakovic
The wind declines nothing. Nobody
bears witness to the witness. Only
white darkness
...
Hrvoje Pejakovic
The wind declines nothing. Nobody
bears witness to the witness. Only
white darkness
...
LATE FORMS
Stefan Hertmans
Just that one cloud we saw,
in nothing ever resembling anything else,
suddenly appearing like
...
Stefan Hertmans
Just that one cloud we saw,
in nothing ever resembling anything else,
suddenly appearing like
...
LATER
Zvonko Maković
In poems it always looks different.
When I read sentences written by others,
everything
...
Zvonko Maković
In poems it always looks different.
When I read sentences written by others,
everything
...
LAUDATOR TEMPORIS ACTI
Paulo Teixeira
Chafed because she breathes a noxious air,
Europe, wallowing in baths and banquets,
addicted
...
Paulo Teixeira
Chafed because she breathes a noxious air,
Europe, wallowing in baths and banquets,
addicted
...
LAUGHING SORROW
Nirupama Dutt
I will not let sorrow sit still
today in my home
Pushing it into my jhola
I will
...
Nirupama Dutt
I will not let sorrow sit still
today in my home
Pushing it into my jhola
I will
...
LAUGHTER
Kunwar Narain
Finally, I’m losing touch
with my laughter.
Often it is missing in the right places,
or it
...
Kunwar Narain
Finally, I’m losing touch
with my laughter.
Often it is missing in the right places,
or it
...
LAWNMOWER
Martin Reints
Thoughts go on their way
but not their own way
like a lawnmover goes ahead of
...
Martin Reints
Thoughts go on their way
but not their own way
like a lawnmover goes ahead of
...
LAY ME DOWN
Peter Theunynck
She asked: change me
into a stone. Or better still:
a prehistoric bone.
Lay
...
Peter Theunynck
She asked: change me
into a stone. Or better still:
a prehistoric bone.
Lay
...
LE LUXE
Sonja vom Brocke
a Lunatica cobbled together
from shorthand trunk and bones
; only as vocabulary
...
Sonja vom Brocke
a Lunatica cobbled together
from shorthand trunk and bones
; only as vocabulary
...
LE VIEUX MOULIN
Jos De Haes
Is a well amid wet grass the road abuts.
A layer of humus where oak beams once stood
...
Jos De Haes
Is a well amid wet grass the road abuts.
A layer of humus where oak beams once stood
...
LEAD US, SON OF TAMBO!
Gcina Mhlophe
Hoyiiini! Hoyina!
Do lend me your ears, people of my land
Lend me your ears and I will
...
Gcina Mhlophe
Hoyiiini! Hoyina!
Do lend me your ears, people of my land
Lend me your ears and I will
...
LEARN ME BY HEART
Shota Iatashvili
Learn me by heart this evening,
Then lie down and go to sleep.
In the morning, when you
...
Shota Iatashvili
Learn me by heart this evening,
Then lie down and go to sleep.
In the morning, when you
...
LEAST
Ruth Lasters
Windows, Love, will replace themselves one night purely
through the wish to open them.
...
Ruth Lasters
Windows, Love, will replace themselves one night purely
through the wish to open them.
...
LEAVING HIEROTOPOLIS
O. Nimigean
on the city streets – if you know how to look – beautiful women
stroll naked take
...
O. Nimigean
on the city streets – if you know how to look – beautiful women
stroll naked take
...
LEAVING POETRY
Lyor Shternberg
Let the poems teach me how to leave them.
I’d watch the beautiful people passing by on
...
Lyor Shternberg
Let the poems teach me how to leave them.
I’d watch the beautiful people passing by on
...
LEAVING THE HOUSE WE MADE LOVE IN
Uroš Zupan
I need to write now that I’m still here. I see numb
greetings of rooms losing life. It seems
...
Uroš Zupan
I need to write now that I’m still here. I see numb
greetings of rooms losing life. It seems
...
LEFTOVER SOUNDS, LEFTOVER PEELS
He Xiaozhu
1
For so many years
I've dreamt of writing poetry like a conversation
Words
...
He Xiaozhu
1
For so many years
I've dreamt of writing poetry like a conversation
Words
...
LEGACY
Roni Margulies
The spear thrust in front of the pavilion
announced that the Khan was seriously ill.
...
Roni Margulies
The spear thrust in front of the pavilion
announced that the Khan was seriously ill.
...
LEGAL ACTIVITIES 1 & 2
Ester Naomi Perquin
1
Wake them up at the start of the night
and ask for dreams.
If
...
Ester Naomi Perquin
1
Wake them up at the start of the night
and ask for dreams.
If
...
LEGEND
Edvard Kocbek
A Spanish princess
walks among us.
You do not see her,
do not hear her,
the
...
Edvard Kocbek
A Spanish princess
walks among us.
You do not see her,
do not hear her,
the
...
LEGEND OF THE SNOW
Chimako Tada
And then, the snow finally started to fall
After the wind and rain and sand
...
Chimako Tada
And then, the snow finally started to fall
After the wind and rain and sand
...
LEGGING BEHIND
Ramy Ditzanny
A stork has one leg.
A ladder, two.
A tripod has tri pods.
A fly, says Aristotle,
...
Ramy Ditzanny
A stork has one leg.
A ladder, two.
A tripod has tri pods.
A fly, says Aristotle,
...
LEMON,
Yosuke Tanaka
Winter, day.
Unable to withstand the sweetness that wells up within
When I think of a
...
Yosuke Tanaka
Winter, day.
Unable to withstand the sweetness that wells up within
When I think of a
...
LENINGRAD, SANS MANDELSTAM, APRIL 1980
Dilip Chitre
The Czar Peter opened up a window on Europe
From where the bankrupt poets of the future saw
...
Dilip Chitre
The Czar Peter opened up a window on Europe
From where the bankrupt poets of the future saw
...
LEOPARD
Tonnus Oosterhoff
Leopard by the brain-stem
listens to the radio wind
knowing, not knowing.
He lifts a
...
Tonnus Oosterhoff
Leopard by the brain-stem
listens to the radio wind
knowing, not knowing.
He lifts a
...
LES CHOSES ET LES MOTS
(THINGS AND WORDS)
Taja Kramberger
Cornice:
Come to me,
fold me in your arms,
hold me tight.
Even when you leave,
...
(THINGS AND WORDS)
Taja Kramberger
Cornice:
Come to me,
fold me in your arms,
hold me tight.
Even when you leave,
...
LESSON IN METER
Valerio Magrelli
A steel comb uncurls
the notes, swirls
a sweet music of cotton
candy. Like a
...
Valerio Magrelli
A steel comb uncurls
the notes, swirls
a sweet music of cotton
candy. Like a
...
LEST WE FORGET
Peter Verhelst
As long as we do not forget, then nothing will be lost.
So let’s forget, but
...
Peter Verhelst
As long as we do not forget, then nothing will be lost.
So let’s forget, but
...
LET ME BE
Anat Zecharya
to simply masturbate at home
in a standard
acrobatic operation
anyone can do
...
Anat Zecharya
to simply masturbate at home
in a standard
acrobatic operation
anyone can do
...
LET NOTHING OPPOSE THE BREEZE
Fernando Linero
Let nothing oppose the breeze
brushing these waters where I bathe my body.
Freshness of
...
Fernando Linero
Let nothing oppose the breeze
brushing these waters where I bathe my body.
Freshness of
...
LET’S SAY YOU STUFF YOUR MOTHER INTO A SUITCASE WHAT DO YOU GET THEN?
Gro Dahle
Hand luggage
you have to struggle with up the stairs
into the streets
across the
...
Gro Dahle
Hand luggage
you have to struggle with up the stairs
into the streets
across the
...
LETTER
Zvonko Maković
I have almost started this poem
with
“Long time ago”.
With this displacement into
...
Zvonko Maković
I have almost started this poem
with
“Long time ago”.
With this displacement into
...
LETTER
Rutger Kopland
Today I was to write you a letter
a letter in which I wanted to understand something
...
Rutger Kopland
Today I was to write you a letter
a letter in which I wanted to understand something
...
LETTER
Mehrdad Arefani
The letter is in the sorting office
A letter which, if delivered,
will gather together
...
Mehrdad Arefani
The letter is in the sorting office
A letter which, if delivered,
will gather together
...
LETTER FROM A BLIND MAN
Stefan Hertmans
I never knew you.
There you were without
That black spot in me
Being aware, a
...
Stefan Hertmans
I never knew you.
There you were without
That black spot in me
Being aware, a
...
LETTER TO BA
Chandrakant Shah
Wearing the blue jeans you bought me
I sit down to write to you
After a long
...
Chandrakant Shah
Wearing the blue jeans you bought me
I sit down to write to you
After a long
...
LETTER TO MY CHILDREN ON GOYA’S EXECUTIONS OF THE THIRD OF MAY
Jorge de Sena
I don’t know, children, what world will be yours.
It’s possible (everything’s possible) that
...
Jorge de Sena
I don’t know, children, what world will be yours.
It’s possible (everything’s possible) that
...
LETTER TO SAMMY
Yudit Shahar
You’d be so proud of me now,
in a bra, black lace over swaying
white flesh, in one hand a
...
Yudit Shahar
You’d be so proud of me now,
in a bra, black lace over swaying
white flesh, in one hand a
...
LETTERS AT SEA
J. Slauerhoff
They’re read and read repeatedly,
Though readers sensed already what was there,
Woven of
...
J. Slauerhoff
They’re read and read repeatedly,
Though readers sensed already what was there,
Woven of
...
LETTING MYSELF GO
Lauren Mendinueta
Only yesterday I was forty-nine.
Today, the first morning of April, 1977,
I looked for my
...
Lauren Mendinueta
Only yesterday I was forty-nine.
Today, the first morning of April, 1977,
I looked for my
...
LET'S PRETEND THAT THE WAR
Shai Dotan
Let’s pretend that the war here was made of love
An oppressed enemy swept away by love
...
Shai Dotan
Let’s pretend that the war here was made of love
An oppressed enemy swept away by love
...
LET’S PRESS THE NIGHT
Horacio Benavides
Now
when our pain
is still young
and we go
downriver
feeling how
...
Horacio Benavides
Now
when our pain
is still young
and we go
downriver
feeling how
...
LEVELS
Stefano Dal Bianco
When I lie down on the carpet in the hall and look up, sometimes there is a fly
sometimes a
...
Stefano Dal Bianco
When I lie down on the carpet in the hall and look up, sometimes there is a fly
sometimes a
...
LI
Lucía Estrada
There will be an instant in which the light of the known will be withdrawn, and the dust of
the
...
Lucía Estrada
There will be an instant in which the light of the known will be withdrawn, and the dust of
the
...
LI BAI AND DU FU
Qin Xiaoyu
The China National Art Museum.
Li Bai and Du Fu domineer at opposite corners of the lobby.
...
Qin Xiaoyu
The China National Art Museum.
Li Bai and Du Fu domineer at opposite corners of the lobby.
...
LIADHAIN
Gabriel Rosenstock
(I)
Liadhain…
Knowledge flowed between us.
I am Cuirithir.
God goes halves in
...
Gabriel Rosenstock
(I)
Liadhain…
Knowledge flowed between us.
I am Cuirithir.
God goes halves in
...
LIBRARY
Yuri Andrukhovych
we search for the most esoteric knowledge
climb ladders to reach highest sections in the
...
Yuri Andrukhovych
we search for the most esoteric knowledge
climb ladders to reach highest sections in the
...
LIBRARY
Sigitas Parulskis
I was sitting in the library reading room, the great hall
by a huge table, absolutely alone,
...
Sigitas Parulskis
I was sitting in the library reading room, the great hall
by a huge table, absolutely alone,
...
LIFE
Zhai Yongming
you must do all you can to stay calm
a plot detail like the act of vomiting
suspends its arc
...
Zhai Yongming
you must do all you can to stay calm
a plot detail like the act of vomiting
suspends its arc
...
LIFE
Paolo Ruffilli
How life
begins and ends
(perhaps by chance?)
the luminous track
the wake that
...
Paolo Ruffilli
How life
begins and ends
(perhaps by chance?)
the luminous track
the wake that
...
LIFE
Hiroshi Kawasaki
When day broke
Light quickly flooded into
Every little crevice of the bushes
Dyeing
...
Hiroshi Kawasaki
When day broke
Light quickly flooded into
Every little crevice of the bushes
Dyeing
...
LIFE
Wadih Sa’adeh
Wasting time,
he sketched a vase.
He drew a flower in the vase.
Perfume rose from
...
Wadih Sa’adeh
Wasting time,
he sketched a vase.
He drew a flower in the vase.
Perfume rose from
...
LIFE-LONG UNDERCOVER
Hu Xudong
What planet are you from, stranger?
You have an outer space violin in your left ear
...
Hu Xudong
What planet are you from, stranger?
You have an outer space violin in your left ear
...
LIFEBOATS AND LIFEGUARD STANDS
Dmytro Lazutkin
Strolling alone along a southern sea
you stumble upon forsaken flags and rose petals
...
Dmytro Lazutkin
Strolling alone along a southern sea
you stumble upon forsaken flags and rose petals
...
LIFELONG LUCK
Jan H. Mysjkin
Pick the flowers of the greenback-tree (dollartræet) and make them
into a garland
...
Jan H. Mysjkin
Pick the flowers of the greenback-tree (dollartræet) and make them
into a garland
...
LIFTING UP HER HIPPOPOTAMUS
Tomas Lieske
I am the angel that alleviates the raging
bends the hurricane round.
For
...
Tomas Lieske
I am the angel that alleviates the raging
bends the hurricane round.
For
...
LIGHT
Remco Campert
We wanted light more light
so we cut the tree down its longing
stood in the way of
...
Remco Campert
We wanted light more light
so we cut the tree down its longing
stood in the way of
...
LIGHT
Armando
While the light attempts to
uncoil, the city is rebellious,
the terror has outlived
...
Armando
While the light attempts to
uncoil, the city is rebellious,
the terror has outlived
...
LIGHT A CANDLE
Zelda
Light a candle,
drink wine.
Softly the Sabbath has plucked
the sinking sun.
Slowly the
...
Zelda
Light a candle,
drink wine.
Softly the Sabbath has plucked
the sinking sun.
Slowly the
...
LIGHTNESS OF THE NIGHT
Anne Vegter
and I was dreaming of something riveting me to night then coffee and crüesli . . .
Although
...
Anne Vegter
and I was dreaming of something riveting me to night then coffee and crüesli . . .
Although
...
LIGHTNING VISIT
Pieter Boskma
I landed on a lily and entered the calyx
down a spiral staircase of slender smells.
...
Pieter Boskma
I landed on a lily and entered the calyx
down a spiral staircase of slender smells.
...
LIKE A BOAT IN THE FINE WIND
Jon Fosse
you and I
you and the moon
you and the wind
you
and the stars
perhaps
...
Jon Fosse
you and I
you and the moon
you and the wind
you
and the stars
perhaps
...
LIKE A FAIRYTALE FOREST, THOROUGHLY SCOURED
Alfred Schaffer
You won’t get out again, soft underfoot whichever
way you turned, even with a map you would
...
Alfred Schaffer
You won’t get out again, soft underfoot whichever
way you turned, even with a map you would
...
LIKE A HANGING JUG
Rosa Jamali
Like a hanging jug
No drink is pouring off me
It’s natural to be numbed gradually
...
Rosa Jamali
Like a hanging jug
No drink is pouring off me
It’s natural to be numbed gradually
...
LIKE A LAW OR A POEM, FOR THE SALAFISTS OR CONSTITUTIONAL ORIGINALISTS, AND ARE WE NOW SUDDENLY ALLOWED TO MAKE JOKES ABOUT WHAT YOU’RE AFRAID OF?
Nachoem M. Wijnberg
How long can a text that is used to determine what to do remain as if nobody’s?
...
Nachoem M. Wijnberg
How long can a text that is used to determine what to do remain as if nobody’s?
...
LIKE A POLYPTYCH
Franco Buffoni
Like a polyptych that's opened up
And the story's there inside
But it's
...
Franco Buffoni
Like a polyptych that's opened up
And the story's there inside
But it's
...
LIKE A RIVER, ABANDONED IN ALL HASTE
Alfred Schaffer
Harmless water, jet-black, without current,
without origin still, without boats or swans,
no
...
Alfred Schaffer
Harmless water, jet-black, without current,
without origin still, without boats or swans,
no
...
LIKE A TABLETOP SHINING
Peter Verhelst
In bed we stare the clothes off
of each other on the floor,
a dress a shirt, nothing
...
Peter Verhelst
In bed we stare the clothes off
of each other on the floor,
a dress a shirt, nothing
...
LIKE AN OWL
Gabriel Rosenstock
The streamlined feathers of the owl
ensure the silence of its approach,
a silent glide
...
Gabriel Rosenstock
The streamlined feathers of the owl
ensure the silence of its approach,
a silent glide
...
LIKE BEIRUT
Chaim Gouri
I’ve been like Beirut,
constructed of the unlike in the like
and of the exact
...
Chaim Gouri
I’ve been like Beirut,
constructed of the unlike in the like
and of the exact
...
LIKE FLAVOUR OF FRUIT
Kedarnath Singh
like stars in the sky
fish in the water
oxygen in the air
in the same way on this
...
Kedarnath Singh
like stars in the sky
fish in the water
oxygen in the air
in the same way on this
...
LIKE THE PAGES OF A NEWSPAPER
Rutger Kopland
Like the pages of a newspaper
flapping slowly to and fro in the grass
and it is not the
...
Rutger Kopland
Like the pages of a newspaper
flapping slowly to and fro in the grass
and it is not the
...
LIKE THEN, WHEN A THIN CRACK WAS SUSPECTED,
Hedva Harechavi
and memory was chaos
and a spirit of longing blew
fiercely
over memory
...
Hedva Harechavi
and memory was chaos
and a spirit of longing blew
fiercely
over memory
...
LILAC
Øyvind Rimbereid
After Kafka
had corrected
“A Hunger Artist”,
but before Dora rushed out
to
...
Øyvind Rimbereid
After Kafka
had corrected
“A Hunger Artist”,
but before Dora rushed out
to
...
LILY MAGNOLIA
Zhang Zao
my darling noonday, the magnolia drops her gaze, serenely dreaming
she dreams of me standing on
...
Zhang Zao
my darling noonday, the magnolia drops her gaze, serenely dreaming
she dreams of me standing on
...
LIMITS OF PATIENCE
Tarannum Riyaz
Do not drive me
beyond my patience
have you not seen the signs?
For quite
...
Tarannum Riyaz
Do not drive me
beyond my patience
have you not seen the signs?
For quite
...
LIMOGES
María Clemencia Sánchez
Here are all the heavens
I have never visited
the nightmare of trains at night
that
...
María Clemencia Sánchez
Here are all the heavens
I have never visited
the nightmare of trains at night
that
...
LINES WRITTEN TO MOTHERS WHO DISAGREE
WITH THEIR SONS’ CHOICES OF WOMEN
Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih
For managing to love
an object of scorn
they place around my neck
a garland of
...
WITH THEIR SONS’ CHOICES OF WOMEN
Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih
For managing to love
an object of scorn
they place around my neck
a garland of
...
LIONESS
Barbara Korun
The lioness is my love for you, the tawny lioness
with her golden skin, her golden eyes.
...
Barbara Korun
The lioness is my love for you, the tawny lioness
with her golden skin, her golden eyes.
...
LION’S MILK
Ronny Someck
My grandfather was born in the land of Arak
where lions with combed manes
lay posed as
...
Ronny Someck
My grandfather was born in the land of Arak
where lions with combed manes
lay posed as
...
LISBOA
J. Slauerhoff
Full of grey and white buildings this port,
New houses abandoned half-way,
Ruins that
...
J. Slauerhoff
Full of grey and white buildings this port,
New houses abandoned half-way,
Ruins that
...
LISBON
Damir Šodan
Her mobile phone buzzes again.
On a late summer afternoon on Rua Garrett
she sits with
...
Damir Šodan
Her mobile phone buzzes again.
On a late summer afternoon on Rua Garrett
she sits with
...
LISBON IN THE FOG
Fiama Hasse Pais Brandão
In the fog the city, drunk,
staggers and falls.
Formless, the buildings
lose their place
...
Fiama Hasse Pais Brandão
In the fog the city, drunk,
staggers and falls.
Formless, the buildings
lose their place
...
LIST OF CIVIC SONGS
Maarten van der Graaff
Tonight I want to talk to a fascist.
By soft light and beer, on Europe
and on bosses,
...
Maarten van der Graaff
Tonight I want to talk to a fascist.
By soft light and beer, on Europe
and on bosses,
...
LIST OF RITUALS
Maarten van der Graaff
Douse a grey Astra in cognac.
Take a grey Astra to Umbria.
Stop in Umbria, out of the
...
Maarten van der Graaff
Douse a grey Astra in cognac.
Take a grey Astra to Umbria.
Stop in Umbria, out of the
...
LIST WITH PEOPLE ON THE COLD STONE
Maarten van der Graaff
I don’t want to be a cultural entrepreneur,
and I shout from the cold stone that I want
...
Maarten van der Graaff
I don’t want to be a cultural entrepreneur,
and I shout from the cold stone that I want
...
LISTEN, COMPATRIOTS!
Nontsizi Mgqwetho
Mercy, Nontsizi, renowned for your chanting,
your poems are the nation’s bounty.
No
...
Nontsizi Mgqwetho
Mercy, Nontsizi, renowned for your chanting,
your poems are the nation’s bounty.
No
...
LITANY ON BEGINNING A BURIAL
Menna Elfyn
A bit of dirt never did anyone harm, was grandma’s belief –
Are all men’s words like a
...
Menna Elfyn
A bit of dirt never did anyone harm, was grandma’s belief –
Are all men’s words like a
...
LITERALLY, ONLY LITERALLY
Dorta Jagić
the night before the exam
on Christian mystics
I’m dreaming that in the black
...
Dorta Jagić
the night before the exam
on Christian mystics
I’m dreaming that in the black
...
LITHE LOVE
Herman De Coninck
your sweaters & your white & red
scarves & your stockings & your panties
...
Herman De Coninck
your sweaters & your white & red
scarves & your stockings & your panties
...
LITTLE GRAIN OF SAND
Ingrid Jonker
Grain little grain of sand
pebble rolled in my hand
pebble thrust in my pocket
a
...
Ingrid Jonker
Grain little grain of sand
pebble rolled in my hand
pebble thrust in my pocket
a
...
LITTLE GREEN SPADE
Peter Theunynck
A little green spade is my hound.
I hold it tightly in my hand.
I hardly ever put it in
...
Peter Theunynck
A little green spade is my hound.
I hold it tightly in my hand.
I hardly ever put it in
...
LITTLE KOREAN SONG
María Clemencia Sánchez
The heart will follow
the timeless path of joy,
the breeze bringing the murmur
of
...
María Clemencia Sánchez
The heart will follow
the timeless path of joy,
the breeze bringing the murmur
of
...
LITTLE RUTH
Yehuda Amichai
Sometimes I remember you, little Ruth,
We were separated in our distant childhood and they
...
Yehuda Amichai
Sometimes I remember you, little Ruth,
We were separated in our distant childhood and they
...
LITTLE SON ASLEEP
Bernard Dewulf
During a typical weekday afternoon,
a century’s dispatched outside.
Your sleep is
...
Bernard Dewulf
During a typical weekday afternoon,
a century’s dispatched outside.
Your sleep is
...
LITTLE SONG
María Clemencia Sánchez
Music
is finding silence.
It is softening
the shoemaker’s hammerings,
...
María Clemencia Sánchez
Music
is finding silence.
It is softening
the shoemaker’s hammerings,
...
LITTLE TAPS ON THE KNEE
Afrizal Malna
i tap my knees, there is a land collapsing. listen.
this land is like a saturday night that
...
Afrizal Malna
i tap my knees, there is a land collapsing. listen.
this land is like a saturday night that
...
LITTLE THING
Jiang Hao
Fly, fly up! I see now
how small you are,
bushes, trees I do not know
are on both
...
Jiang Hao
Fly, fly up! I see now
how small you are,
bushes, trees I do not know
are on both
...
LIVES OF GREAT MEN (SELECTED)
Inuo Taguchi
LENIN
Lenin is relieved
that the bronze statue of himself was taken down.
...
Inuo Taguchi
LENIN
Lenin is relieved
that the bronze statue of himself was taken down.
...
LIVING OUTDOORS IN WINTER
Anne Vegter
We missed you only when your departure could no longer be delayed.
Later that day breaking
...
Anne Vegter
We missed you only when your departure could no longer be delayed.
Later that day breaking
...
LIVING TOGETHER
Duo Duo
They’ll meet the three intents of life
around the corner: embers from an old
...
Duo Duo
They’ll meet the three intents of life
around the corner: embers from an old
...
LJUBLJANA IS ASLEEP
Srečko Kosovel
In red chaos a new humanity
is approaching! Ljubljana is asleep.
Europe is dying in a
...
Srečko Kosovel
In red chaos a new humanity
is approaching! Ljubljana is asleep.
Europe is dying in a
...
LOCAL UNIVERSE
Jacob Groot
In us lies preserved what perished, to me the task
(an end) of sticking it to the wall like a
...
Jacob Groot
In us lies preserved what perished, to me the task
(an end) of sticking it to the wall like a
...
LOCUS SOLUS
Pedro Arturo Estrada
I
Welcome, perfect unreality,
dilution of certainty in angelic smokes, mirage,
...
Pedro Arturo Estrada
I
Welcome, perfect unreality,
dilution of certainty in angelic smokes, mirage,
...
LODGING HOUSE
Federico Díaz-Granados
I’ve never met the lodgers of my life.
I’ve never known when they come in or out,
or in
...
Federico Díaz-Granados
I’ve never met the lodgers of my life.
I’ve never known when they come in or out,
or in
...
LOGIC IN LOVE
Esther Jansma
‘Roses’ as a set is different
than that of what are not called roses
just like ‘I’ and
...
Esther Jansma
‘Roses’ as a set is different
than that of what are not called roses
just like ‘I’ and
...
LOIS LESTER
Nyk de Vries
I met Lois Lester in 1956 and realised immediately that he was a strange character. We were walking
...
Nyk de Vries
I met Lois Lester in 1956 and realised immediately that he was a strange character. We were walking
...
LOLA JATTIN
Raúl Gómez Jattin
Beyond the night that twinkles in childhood
Even beyond my first memory
is Lola – my
...
Raúl Gómez Jattin
Beyond the night that twinkles in childhood
Even beyond my first memory
is Lola – my
...
LONDON
Yang Lian
reality is part of my nature
spring has accepted the overflowing green of the dead again
...
Yang Lian
reality is part of my nature
spring has accepted the overflowing green of the dead again
...
LONDON EYE
Abol Froushan
A celebration, the family circle
and we wish all to be as one or else
the
...
Abol Froushan
A celebration, the family circle
and we wish all to be as one or else
the
...
LONELINESS MISTAKEN FOR A CLEAR DAY
Rune Christiansen
The snow-covered mountains in the distance are reminiscent of distant, snow-covered mountains, or
...
Rune Christiansen
The snow-covered mountains in the distance are reminiscent of distant, snow-covered mountains, or
...
LONELY FUNERAL
Joke van Leeuwen
The man of ash says, take my urn
by my waist, that’s right, like that
don’t scatter me
...
Joke van Leeuwen
The man of ash says, take my urn
by my waist, that’s right, like that
don’t scatter me
...
LONG AGO
Constantine Cavafy
I’d like to speak of this memory…
but it’s so faded now…as though nothing is left—
...
Constantine Cavafy
I’d like to speak of this memory…
but it’s so faded now…as though nothing is left—
...
LONG LIVE GOD, LUIS JUST SAID
Arjen Duinker
My thoughts were elsewhere at the time,
More with Shane and my landlord’s banking details.
...
Arjen Duinker
My thoughts were elsewhere at the time,
More with Shane and my landlord’s banking details.
...
LONGHUA TEMPLE
Yang Lian
being chewed by the crocodile structured the eve of this poem
in dreams the terrifyingly
...
Yang Lian
being chewed by the crocodile structured the eve of this poem
in dreams the terrifyingly
...
LONGING FOR WINTER
Hubert van Herreweghen
Too much thick leafiness
too few branches as yet
too little skinniness
too lushly
...
Hubert van Herreweghen
Too much thick leafiness
too few branches as yet
too little skinniness
too lushly
...
LOOKING AT MOUNTAINS
Dirk van Bastelaere
When the Swiss evening falls,
backlit behind the billowing white of curtains
the mountain is
...
Dirk van Bastelaere
When the Swiss evening falls,
backlit behind the billowing white of curtains
the mountain is
...
LOOKING UP AT THE STARRY SKY ABOVE HARGAI
Xi Chuan
There is a mystery you cannot control
You can only play the role of a bystander
And
...
Xi Chuan
There is a mystery you cannot control
You can only play the role of a bystander
And
...
LOONEY TUNES
Alfred Schaffer
Two mice
are sitting on a comfortable seat in a first-class compartment.
The older mouse is
...
Alfred Schaffer
Two mice
are sitting on a comfortable seat in a first-class compartment.
The older mouse is
...
LORD OF LIGHTNING
Juan Diego Tamayo
The sea’s surf announces winds of fury
and everything is visible in the celestial heart.
...
Juan Diego Tamayo
The sea’s surf announces winds of fury
and everything is visible in the celestial heart.
...
LORE
Sonja vom Brocke
The doctor phantom on the terrace. If you slip out of your shoes now
will the serpent protect
...
Sonja vom Brocke
The doctor phantom on the terrace. If you slip out of your shoes now
will the serpent protect
...
LOSS
Mordechai Geldman
Something in me repeats in an obsessive beat
that I may have lost something
...
Mordechai Geldman
Something in me repeats in an obsessive beat
that I may have lost something
...
LOST FRIENDS
Rui Pires Cabral
Friends carried off by life
are the most difficult to appease, the most
tyrannical.
...
Rui Pires Cabral
Friends carried off by life
are the most difficult to appease, the most
tyrannical.
...
LOST THINGS, FOUND HOPES
Harkaitz Cano
For Nietzsche, hope was the beginning of loss.
But we can be even more radical:
...
Harkaitz Cano
For Nietzsche, hope was the beginning of loss.
But we can be even more radical:
...
LOTS AND LOTS
Takako Arai
Tsutomu and Isamu—
Those names were popular among boys back then
But we
...
Takako Arai
Tsutomu and Isamu—
Those names were popular among boys back then
But we
...
LOVE
Song Xiaoxian
what will they say
if our love
stays above the waist?
Will their childish games
ever
...
Song Xiaoxian
what will they say
if our love
stays above the waist?
Will their childish games
ever
...
LOVE
Oksana Zabuzhko
Embraces flow down like water,
A night-light parts our shadow . . .
Not a sacrifice, not
...
Oksana Zabuzhko
Embraces flow down like water,
A night-light parts our shadow . . .
Not a sacrifice, not
...
LOVE
Paolo Ruffilli
Thus, I suddenly
catch myself in the mirror
in a stifling embrace
while I project
...
Paolo Ruffilli
Thus, I suddenly
catch myself in the mirror
in a stifling embrace
while I project
...
LOVE
Margarita Cardona
After all, life could be lost at any moment
So why ask after the umbrella or the shoes
...
Margarita Cardona
After all, life could be lost at any moment
So why ask after the umbrella or the shoes
...
LOVE
Cecilie Løveid
I loved him. The weather was nice. I come to
his door and ring the bell.
He doesn’t
...
Cecilie Løveid
I loved him. The weather was nice. I come to
his door and ring the bell.
He doesn’t
...
LOVE 13
Mitsuharu Kaneko
The woman had never had it done to her before.
The man, just like a brand-new
...
Mitsuharu Kaneko
The woman had never had it done to her before.
The man, just like a brand-new
...
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
Shuijing Zhulian
him and I: love at first sight
due to excess yearning
this slice of romance only lasted a day
...
Shuijing Zhulian
him and I: love at first sight
due to excess yearning
this slice of romance only lasted a day
...
LOVE CALL
Dubravko Detoni
I will clothe myself in your voice, in your voice, and invisibly I will go out into the street. I
...
Dubravko Detoni
I will clothe myself in your voice, in your voice, and invisibly I will go out into the street. I
...
LOVE FRONT
Abdel-ilah Salhi
What we learnt of love was from novels, stories, and poems. With poverty, frustration, and
...
Abdel-ilah Salhi
What we learnt of love was from novels, stories, and poems. With poverty, frustration, and
...
LOVE IS A MECHANICAL BULL THAT NO ONE DISMOUNTS ELEGANTLY.
Valeria Tentoni
An abandoned ride
at a fair,
challenging the elements.
Everyone stops at
...
Valeria Tentoni
An abandoned ride
at a fair,
challenging the elements.
Everyone stops at
...
LOVE IS THE ANSWER – RANCID WOVEN SEAL
Ann Cotten
The palindrome is not palingenesis:
The latter would be more an anagram.
In search of
...
Ann Cotten
The palindrome is not palingenesis:
The latter would be more an anagram.
In search of
...
LOVE LETTERS
J. Slauerhoff
Love letters surpass a lover who’s gone.
Once the letters have arrived, it’s quite enough:
...
J. Slauerhoff
Love letters surpass a lover who’s gone.
Once the letters have arrived, it’s quite enough:
...
LOVE OF NATURE
Peter van Lier
Nonchalantly I walk among some trees. Naturally with
hands behind my back.
From time to
...
Peter van Lier
Nonchalantly I walk among some trees. Naturally with
hands behind my back.
From time to
...
LOVE POEM
Álvaro Marín
Dark wings brush us, last night
a big spot of blood fell onto the earth
and the
...
Álvaro Marín
Dark wings brush us, last night
a big spot of blood fell onto the earth
and the
...
LOVE POEM
Dan Coman
all day it couldn’t get any better as all day
we are stuffed little men
and mara
...
Dan Coman
all day it couldn’t get any better as all day
we are stuffed little men
and mara
...
LOVERS
Jorge Gaitán Durán
We are like those that love each other.
When undressing we discover two monstrous
...
Jorge Gaitán Durán
We are like those that love each other.
When undressing we discover two monstrous
...
LOVERS
Tatjana Gromača
A fat man and a fat woman kiss in the supermarket.
Their juicy, pinky tongues
lean awkwardly
...
Tatjana Gromača
A fat man and a fat woman kiss in the supermarket.
Their juicy, pinky tongues
lean awkwardly
...
LOVERS
Nikos Fokas
Oh miserable patrons of the concert hall,
I watch you as you listen to a piano piece
...
Nikos Fokas
Oh miserable patrons of the concert hall,
I watch you as you listen to a piano piece
...
LOVERS II
Jorge Gaitán Durán
We confronted the body nakedly
like two mistaken angels,
like two red suns in a dark
...
Jorge Gaitán Durán
We confronted the body nakedly
like two mistaken angels,
like two red suns in a dark
...
LOVES
Titos Patríkios
Al love is born within love
grows larger in its belly
spreads into its space, inhabits
...
Titos Patríkios
Al love is born within love
grows larger in its belly
spreads into its space, inhabits
...
LOVE’S BANKS
Leonard Nolens
Taking distance and leave is the horny metaphysics
Of men who keep their love hot and moist
...
Leonard Nolens
Taking distance and leave is the horny metaphysics
Of men who keep their love hot and moist
...
LUCKNOW
Kunwar Narain
Eyebrows raised at some youth’s youthful ways,
on a broken armchair
half-sprawled
...
Kunwar Narain
Eyebrows raised at some youth’s youthful ways,
on a broken armchair
half-sprawled
...
LUKAS 9
Rune Christiansen
A day of frozen lakes, in February the sun reigns only in shy glints, and the silence is on its way
...
Rune Christiansen
A day of frozen lakes, in February the sun reigns only in shy glints, and the silence is on its way
...
LUKOIL
Serhiy Zhadan
When Easter arrives and the sky becomes kinder
but everyone becomes more intense, saying,
...
Serhiy Zhadan
When Easter arrives and the sky becomes kinder
but everyone becomes more intense, saying,
...
LULL
Avoth Yeshurun
I was a vineyard watchman
and descended at the end of the vintage from the hut
from the
...
Avoth Yeshurun
I was a vineyard watchman
and descended at the end of the vintage from the hut
from the
...
LULLABY
Shimon Adaf
Father,
who always misses the target,
consumed by love like a match,
stooped over
...
Shimon Adaf
Father,
who always misses the target,
consumed by love like a match,
stooped over
...
LULLABY FOR THE SLEEPLESS
Geert van Istendael
Can you see the chimney-pots on the roofs, at night?
They hang by threads, which you can’t
...
Geert van Istendael
Can you see the chimney-pots on the roofs, at night?
They hang by threads, which you can’t
...
LUNCHTIME
Kiji Kutani
At lunchtime on September 16, 2001,
I squatted on the grass of the riverbank
and looked
...
Kiji Kutani
At lunchtime on September 16, 2001,
I squatted on the grass of the riverbank
and looked
...
LUNG FUNCTIONS
L.F. Rosen
If I could study something
I’d like to specialise
in the lung, in the ultimate
...
L.F. Rosen
If I could study something
I’d like to specialise
in the lung, in the ultimate
...
LUO JIASHENG
Yu Jian
every day as the chimneys belch smoke
he comes riding to work on his
old “Bell”-brand
...
Yu Jian
every day as the chimneys belch smoke
he comes riding to work on his
old “Bell”-brand
...
LUST
Ruxandra Cesereanu
the bite between the thighs comes from lust
that a knife often cannot cut loose
that
...
Ruxandra Cesereanu
the bite between the thighs comes from lust
that a knife often cannot cut loose
that
...
LUXEMBOURG GARDEN
Adam Zagajewski
Parisian apartment houses fear neither wind nor imagination
– they’re ponderous
...
Adam Zagajewski
Parisian apartment houses fear neither wind nor imagination
– they’re ponderous
...
LVII
Lucía Estrada
I separate for a moment the water in the ditch: I don’t want to see the reflection any more,
...
Lucía Estrada
I separate for a moment the water in the ditch: I don’t want to see the reflection any more,
...
LYRICISM
Shota Iatashvili
Your lyricism is like a doll,
You take its dress off and put it on, you comb it,
You hold
...
Shota Iatashvili
Your lyricism is like a doll,
You take its dress off and put it on, you comb it,
You hold
...
POEM
Derek Walcott (1930-2017)
THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
Derek Walcott (1930-2017)
Marley was rocking on the transport's stereo and the beauty was humming the …
ARTICLE
48th Poetry International Festival Rotterdam
The 48th Poetry International Festival kicks off on Tuesday May 30, with an opening …
POET
Massimo Morasso
Antoinette Sisto
Massimo Morasso (Genova, 1964) graduated in Modern Languages at the University of …
ARTICLE
Poetry translation project open to all levels
In Other Words 2017
Poetry translation project open to all levels
From 30 May till 4 June, Poetry International will bring approximately 20 of the …
• recently added• original language
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