Poems List
Explore poems from our collection
Men
Men
When I was young, I used to
Watch behind the curtains
As men walked up and down the street. Wino men, old men.
Young men shar…
Momma Welfare Roll
Momma Welfare Roll
Her arms semaphore fat triangles,
Pudgy hands bunched on layered hips
Where bones idle under years of fatback
And lima…
California Prodigal
California Prodigal
FOR DAVID P—B
The eye follows, the land
Slips upward, creases down, forms
The gentle buttocks of a young
Insomniac
Insomniac
There are some nights when
sleep plays coy,
aloof and disdainful.
And all the wiles
that I employ to win
…
A Conceit
A Conceit
Give me your hand
Make room for me
to lead and follow
you
beyond this rage of poetry.
L…
Alone
Alone
Lying, thinking
Last night
How to find my soul a home
Where water is not thirsty
And bread loaf is not stone
…
These are not the only wonders of the world
These are not the only wonders of the world
When we come to it
We, this people, on this minuscule and kithless globe
Who reach daily for the bomb…
Winter garden
Winter garden
Winter garden,
the moon thinned to a thread,
insects singing.
Translated by Robert Hass
What fish feel
What fish feel
What fish feel,
birds feel, I don't know--
the year ending.
Translated by Robert Hass
The squid seller's call
The squid seller's call
The squid seller's call
mingles with the voice
of the cuckoo.
Translated by Robert Hass
The oak tree
The oak tree
The oak tree:
not interested
in cherry blossoms.
Translated by Robert Hass
The dragonfly
The dragonfly
The dragonfly
can't quite land
on that blade of grass.
Translated by Robert Hass
Staying at an inn
Staying at an inn
Staying at an inn
where prostitutes are also sleeping--
bush clover and the moon.
Translated by Robert Hass
Taking a nap
Taking a nap
Taking a nap,
feet planted
against a cool wall.
Translated by Robert Hass
Moonlight slanting
Moonlight slanting
Moonlight slanting
through the bamboo grove;
a cuckoo crying.
Translated by Robert Hass
In this world of ours,
In this world of ours,
Yo no naka wa kutte hako shite nete okite
Sate sono ato wa shinuru bakari zo
In this world of ours,
We eat only to cast ou…
Heat waves shimmering
Heat waves shimmering
Heat waves shimmering
one or two inches
above the dead grass.
Translated by Robert Hass
Fleas, lice
Fleas, lice
Fleas, lice,
a horse peeing
near my pillow.
Translated by Robert Hass
First snow
First snow
First snow
falling
on the half-finished bridge.
Translated by Robert Hass
Don't imitate me
Don't imitate me
Don't imitate me;
it's as boring
as the two halves of a melon.
Translated by Robert Hass
Collection of Six Haiku
Collection of Six Haiku
Waking in the night;
the lamp is low,
the oil freezing.
It has rained enough
to turn the stubble on the field
Bush warbler
Bush warbler
Bush warbler:
shits on the rice cakes
on the porch rail.
Translated by Robert Hass
Bitter–tasting ice —
Bitter–tasting ice —
Kori nigaku enso ga nodo o uruoseri
Bitter–tasting ice —
Just enough to wet the throat
Of a sewer rat.
Autumn moonlight
Autumn moonlight
Autumn moonlight--
a worm digs silently
into the chestnut.
Translated by Robert Hass