Poems List
Explore poems from our collection
The Iron Bridge
The Iron Bridge
I am standing on a disused iron bridge
that was erected in 1902,
according to the iron plaque bolted into a beam,
the year my mothe…
The Best Cigarette
The Best Cigarette
There are many that I miss
having sent my last one out a car window
sparking along the road one night, years ago.
Th…
Snow Day
Snow Day
Today we woke up to a revolution of snow,
its white flag waving over everything,
the landscape vanished,
not a single mouse to punctuate t…
Taking Off Emily Dickinson's Clothes
Taking Off Emily Dickinson's Clothes
First, her tippet made of tulle,
easily lifted off her shoulders and laid
on the back of a wooden chair.
Reading An Anthology Of Chinese Poems Of The Sung Dynasty, I Pause To
Reading An Anthology Of Chinese Poems Of The Sung Dynasty, I Pause To
Admire The Length And Clarity Of Their Titles
It seems these poets have nothing
up …
Picnic, Lightning
Picnic, Lightning
It is possible to be struck by a
meteor or a single-engine plane while
reading in a chair at home. Pedestrians
are flattened by s…
Nostalgia
Nostalgia
Remember the 1340's? We were doing a dance called the Catapult.
You always wore brown, the color craze of the decade,
and I was draped in…
Neither Snow
Neither Snow
When all of a sudden the city air filled with snow,
the distinguishable flakes
blowing sideways,
looked like krill
fleeing the m…
Litany
Litany
You are the bread and the knife,
The crystal goblet and the wine...
-Jacques Crickillon
You are the bread and the knife,
t…
Man Listening To Disc
Man Listening To Disc
This is not bad -ambling
along 44th Street
with Sonny Rollins for company,
his music flowing through the soft calipers
…
I Go Back To The House For A Book
I Go Back To The House For A Book
I turn around on the gravel and go back to the house for a book, something to read at
the doctor's office, and while I am ins…
Invention
Invention
Tonight the moon is a cracker,
with a bite out of it
floating in the night,
and in a week or so
according to the …
For Bartleby The Scrivener
For Bartleby The Scrivener
"Every time we get a big gale around here
some people just refuse to batten down."
we estimate that
ic…
I Ask You
I Ask You
What scene would I want to be enveloped in
more than this one,
an ordinary night at the kitchen table,
floral wallpaper pressing in,
Fishing On The Susquehanna In July
Fishing On The Susquehanna In July
I have never been fishing on the Susquehanna
or on any river for that matter
to be perfectly honest.
Not i…
Dear Reader
Dear Reader
Baudelaire considers you his brother, and Fielding calls out to you every few
paragraphs as if to make sure you have not closed the book, and now I…
Child Development
Child Development
As sure as prehistoric fish grew legs
and sauntered off the beaches into forests
working up some irregular verbs for their
first …
By A Swimming Pool Outside Syracusa
By A Swimming Pool Outside Syracusa
All afternoon I have been struggling to communicate in Italian with Roberto and
Giuseppe, who have begun to resemble the tw…
United Front Song
United Front Song
And because a man is human
He'll want to eat, and thanks a lot
But talk can't take the place of meat
or fill an empty pot.
…
Another Reason Why I Don't Keep A Gun In The House
Another Reason Why I Don't Keep A Gun In The House
The neighbors' dog will not stop barking.
He is barking the same high, rhythmic bark
that he barks eve…
To the Students of the Workers' and Peasants' Faculty
To the Students of the Workers' and Peasants' Faculty
So there you sit. And how much blood was shed
That you might sit there. Do such stories bore you?
W…
To Be Read in the Morning and at Night
To Be Read in the Morning and at Night
[Original]
Morgens und abends zu lesen
Der, den ich liebe
Hat mir gesagt
Daß er mich braucht.
Solidarity Song
Solidarity Song
Peoples of the world, together
Join to serve the common cause!
So it feeds us all for ever
See to it that it's now yours.
The Solution
The Solution
After the uprising of the 17th June
The Secretary of the Writers Union
Had leaflets distributed in the Stalinallee
Stating that the pe…