pain – Robin’s Nest

The Crown of Straw

by Mihai Usachi A ball of clay launched in violence from a blind slingshot,this globe of pain hurtles far into chaos,bearing my love; What good,elaborate lute songs? What good,magniloquent twilight of violet hues?The voice on the face of the watersyou don’t hear, don’t believe, don’t speak about.Behold my ancestor’s patch of earth; here they ploughedtenContinue reading “The Crown of Straw”

First Memory

by Louise Gluck Long ago, I was wounded. I livedto revenge myselfagainst my father, notfor what he was -for what I was from the beginning of time,in childhood, I thoughtthat pain meantI was not loved.I was loved.

The British

by Benjamin Zephaniah Take some Picts, Celts and SiluresAnd let them settle,Then overrun them with Roman conquerors.Remove the Romans after approximately 400 yearsAdd lots of Norman French to someAngles, Saxons, Jutes and Vikings, then stir vigorously.Mix some hot Chileans, cool Jamaicans, Dominicans,Trinidadians, and Bajans with some Ethiopians, Chinese,Vietnamese and Sudanese.Then take a blend of Somalians,Continue reading “The British”

“I loved you…”

by Alexander Pushkin I loved you, and probably still do,And for a while the feeling may remain…But let my love no longer trouble you,I do not wish to cause you any pain.I loved you, and the hopelessness I knew,The jealousy, the shyness – though in vain -Made up a love so tender and so trueAsContinue reading ““I loved you…””

A Song: “Men of England”

by Percy Bysshe Shelley 1792-1822 Men of England, wherefore plough For the lords who lay ye low? Wherefore weave with toil and care The rich robes your tyrants wear? Wherefore feed and clothe and save From the cradle to the grave Those ungrateful drones who would Drain your sweat – nay, drink your blood? Wherefore,Continue reading “A Song: “Men of England””

Life

by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) As late I journey’d o’er the extensive plain Where native Otter sports his scanty stream, Musing in torpid woe a Sister’s pain, The glorious prospect woke me from the dream. At every step it widen’d to my sight – Wood, Meadow, verdant Hill, and weary Steep, Following in quick successionContinue reading “Life”

Still I Rise

by Maya Angelou You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies. You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I’ll rise. Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom? ‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells Pumping in my living room. Just likeContinue reading “Still I Rise”