Peace

Requiescat

by Oscar Wilde Tread lightly, she is nearUnder the snow,Speak gently, she can hearThe daisies grow.All her bright golden hairTarnished with rust,She that was young and fairFallen to dust.Lily-like, light as snow,She hardly knewShe was a woman, soSweetly she grew.Coffin-bound, heavy snow,Lie on her breast,I vex my heart alone,She is at rest.Peace, Peace, she cannotContinue reading “Requiescat”

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”

On Death

by Anne Killigrew Tell me thou safest end of all our woe,Why wretched mortals do avoid thee so.Thou gentle drier o’th’ afflicted’s tearsThou noble ender of the coward’s fears.Thou sweet repose to lovers sad dispaire,Thou calm t’ambitions rough tempestuous care.If in regard of bliss thou wert a curse,And then the joys of Paradise art worse,YetContinue reading “On Death”

The armed militias

by Naji Almurisi Yemeni poet The armed militias Plant gunpowder in gardens And harvest the holes on the streets Crushing dreams Robbing smiles Spreading pains Everywhere Here Dove of peace Looking for peace Here The olive branch An arrow Dripping with bloods Here All flowers Smelling of crying Here The truth becomes a kind ofContinue reading “The armed militias”

The Prisoner

by Emil Brontë Still let my tyrants know, I am not doom’d to wear Year after year in gloom and desolate despair; A messenger of Hope comes every night to me, And offers for short life, eternal liberty. He comes with Western winds, with evening’s wandering airs, With that clear dusk of heaven that bringsContinue reading “The Prisoner”

The Miner

by Henrik Ibsen translated by Fydell Edmund Garrett Beetling rock, with roar and smoke Break before my hammer-stroke! Deeper I must thrust and lower Till I hear the ring of ore. From the mountain’s unplumbed night, Deep amid the gold-veins bright, Diamonds lure me, rubies beckon, Treasure-hoard that none may reckon. There is peace withinContinue reading “The Miner”

By George Herbert (1593-1633) Sweet Peace, where dost thou dwell? I humbly crave, Let me once know. I sought thee in a secret cave, And asked, if Peace were there, A hollow wind did seem to answer, No: Go seek elsewhere. I did; and going did a rainbow note: Surely, thought I, This is theContinue reading “Peace”