BACKPACK
Reading by translator Mira Rosenthal
This world, along with several other worlds,
can fit into the outside pocket of my backpack
or in a bag from Switzerland procured
in a shop …
Poetry
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Self-Portrait Lined by Tomas Tranströmer
I stood in a room that contained every moment—
it contained Tranströmer, insects, and charcoal
…
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PISI
/‘pee-see/
1. n. part, fragment, piece: I watch her slice the peeled calabash gourd into tiny windshields. 2. v. agpisi: to cut up, divide: Bonnet-mouth fish fermenting in a …
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Sierra
A writer forgets how to write
when a writer forgets how to see
oneself through words written,
the voice of a poem drives
all night to watch summer
fall into … -
CORPUS | KAPAAS | कपास
Born a hard seed
I sprouted into a milky clump.
Cotton boll picked,
I was carded, warped, spun.One amongst many, I arrived at the [ ]—
wound, … -
Earthen Desires
A lint covered clay vessel
hides inside the China cabinet
anxious for her slipware.Potter’s hands lift her out.
His breath, a rush of wind,
frees her from dust and inertia.Warm …
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Tettsted
the absence of a void, a place where crowding happens, a forest
where there is no space for light between
so many leaves – a town … -
ahorrar
pan nuestro
acera nuestra
no debe
desperdiciar dinero
no debe
enamorarse
no debe
decir de másy la mamá
su tragedia de inmigrante ilegal en Arizona
y … -
de Diosestiércol
Un carpintero egipcio talló un pequeño escarabajo en un pedazo de madera y le dio a la humanidad el primer egipcio que talló un pequeño escarabajo en un pedazo de …
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Enfermas de siglo
Estábamos desesperadas y tristes
enfermas de siglo
Hablo de la juventud como de caballos sordos
como de cielos estalladosLa carne aún es noble
y estamos servidas al borde de la … -
Poemas de Juventud acerca del posconflicto. Rosita
De todos modos, las bombas caerán un día en la ciudad
no tendremos nada que envidiar a los campesinos macheteados unos añitos antes
bajaremos al subsuelo
propiedad del Estado
a buscar refugio
ya estaremos entrenados …
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My Grandmother’s House
Congratulations to Deborah J. Hunter, the 2022 Zócalo Public Square Poetry Prize Runner-Up for “My Grandmother's House"
My grandmother’s house was made of
strong, black coffee cooked in white enamel
on gas burners lit with sturdy kitchen matches
of some unnamed wood with magical sulfur heads
that …