— Paul Guest, from “1987.”

Crystal Wilkinson, “Witness”

— Marie Howe, from an interview conducted by Victoria Redel c. October 1997

ellen thesleff (finnish, 1869 - 1954)

(via violentwavesofemotion)

From The Creative Spirit: Children’s Literature (1977), June Jordan

— John Keats, from Complete Poems; “To the Ladies who Saw Me Crowned,”

–  Walter Benton (1904-1976), “This is My Beloved” (Entry April 29), published in 1943

— Pablo Neruda, from “XL,” 100 Love Sonnets (University of Texas Press, 1986)

Jack Gilbert, from Collected Poems; "Waking at Night"

Somewhere a band is playing, Playing the strangest tunes, Of sunflower seeds and sailors Who tide with the strangest moons. Somewhere a drummer simmers And trembles with times forlorn, Remembering days of summer In futures yet unborn. Futures so far they are ancient And filled with Egyptian dust, That smell of the tomb and the lilac, And seed that is spent from lust, And peach that is hung on a tree branch Far out in the sky from one’s reach, There mummies as lovely as lobsters Remember old futures and teach. And children sit by on the stone floor And draw out their lives in the sands, Remembering deaths that won’t happen In futures unseen in far lands. Somewhere a band is playing Where the moon never sets in the sky And nobody sleeps in the summer And nobody puts down to die; And Time then just goes on forever And hearts then continue to beat To the sound of the old moon-drum drumming And the glide of Eternity’s feet; Somewhere the old people wander And linger themselves into noon And sleep in the wheat fields yonder To rise as fresh children with moon. Somewhere the children, old, maunder And know what it is to be dead And turn in their weeping to ponder Oblivious filed ‘neath their bed. And sit at the long dining table Where Life makes a banquet of flesh, Where dis-able makes itself able And spoiled puts on new masks of fresh. Somewhere a band is playing Oh listen, oh listen that tune! If you learn it you’ll dance on forever In June and yet June and more June. And Death will be dumb and not clever And Death will lie silent forever In June and June and more June.

– Greek Lessons, Han Kang, trans. Deborah Smith and Emily Yae Won

– Greek Lessons, Han Kang, trans. Deborah Smith and Emily Yae Won

– Han Kang, Human Acts, trans. Deborah Smith

– Han Kang, Greek Lessons

– Han Kang, Greek Lessons