A poem by Adrienne Cecile Rich (1929 – 2012)
I know you are reading this poem
late, before leaving your office
of the one intense yellow lamp-spot and the darkening window
in the lassitude of a building faded to quiet
long after rush-hour. I know you are reading this poem
standing up in a bookstore far from the ocean
on a grey day of early spring, faint flakes driven
across the plains’ enormous spaces around you.
I know you are reading this poem
in a room where too much has happened for you to bear
where the bedclothes lie in stagnant coils on the bed
and the open valise speaks of flight
but you cannot leave yet. I know you are reading this poem
as the underground train loses momentum and before running
up the stairs
toward a new kind of love
your life has never allowed.
I know you are reading this poem by the light
of the television screen where soundless images jerk and slide
while you wait for the newscast from the intifada.
I know you are reading this poem in a waiting-room
of eyes met and unmeeting, of identity with strangers.
I know you are reading this poem by fluorescent light
in the boredom and fatigue of the young who are counted out,
count themselves out, at too early an age. I know
you are reading this poem through your failing sight, the thick
lens enlarging these letters beyond all meaning yet you read on
because even the alphabet is precious.
I know you are reading this poem as you pace beside the stove
warming milk, a crying child on your shoulder, a book in your
hand
because life is short and you too are thirsty.
I know you are reading this poem which is not in your language
guessing at some words while others keep you reading
and I want to know which words they are.
I know you are reading this poem listening for something, torn
between bitterness and hope
turning back once again to the task you cannot refuse.
I know you are reading this poem because there is nothing else
left to read
there where you have landed, stripped as you are.
A few random poems:
- On the Countess of Burlington Cutting Paper poem – Alexander Pope poems | Poetry Monster
- Олег Григорьев – Совершенно откровенно
- Новелла Матвеева – Восток, прошедший чрез воображенье
- Olney Hymn 68: Light Shining Out Of Darkness by William Cowper
- Шекспир – Любовь к себе моим владеет взором – Сонет 62
- A Lament For Adonis by Sappho
- Владимир Бенедиктов – Распутие
- Hymn of the City by William Cullen Bryant
- Lets go by Vinko Kalinić
- Far Within Us #7 by Vasko Popa
- Nature’s song for the children by Raj Arumugam
- On Pedigree. From Epicharmus by William Cowper
- Юнна Мориц – Это вьюги хрустящий калач
- Bermudas poem – Andrew Marvell poems
- Вероника Тушнова – Мать
External links
Bat’s Poetry Page – more poetry by Fledermaus
Talking Writing Monster’s Page –
Batty Writing – the bat’s idle chatter, thoughts, ideas and observations, all original, all fresh
Poems in English
- The Old Revolutionary’s Room by Nijole Miliauskaite
- Ode of Welcome by Oliver St. John Gogarty
- O mother, O Merry by Nikunj Sharma
- My Invisible Valentine by Nin Andrews
- My first seen by Osman cisse Hanif
- My Government Frustrates Me by Olaniyi Beloved Abimbola
- Mother’s Love by Nin Andrews
- Living with Cancer by Nin Andrews
- Living in my Bliss by Nina Gabriel
- Life and Love by Nithin Purple
- Let’s pray the divine by Nikunj Sharma
- Knoxville Tennessee by Nikki Giovanni
- Journey Of Life by Nikhil Srinivas
- Jacaranda by Norma Martiri
- Inter-religion Wedding by Nisha Gopalakrishnan
- If I Were a Tree by Norma Martiri
- I was born with a cry by Nur Al-Alam
- How…? by Nizar Sartawi
- From: The Home We Will Never Live In That Place by Nijole Miliauskaite
- Heat Wave by Norma Martiri
More external links (open in a new tab):
Doska or the Board – write anything
Search engines:
Yandex – the best search engine for searches in Russian (and the best overall image search engine, in any language, anywhere)
Qwant – the best search engine for searches in French, German as well as Romance and Germanic languages.
Ecosia – a search engine that supposedly… plants trees
Duckduckgo – the real alternative and a search engine that actually works. Without much censorship or partisan politics.
Yahoo– yes, it’s still around, amazingly, miraculously, incredibly, but now it seems to be powered by Bing.
Parallel Translations of Poetry
The Poetry Repository – an online library of poems, poetry, verse and poetic works
Adrienne Cecile Rich (1929 – 2012) was an American poet, essayist, and feminist.