Giuseppe Ungaretti, “The Buried Harbor”
The necessity of speaking hides. When sought, it proves elusive, not only avoiding bright spots but creating false trails. Honesty begs for brevity — trut...
Category: poetry
János Pilinszky, “Van Gogh’s Prayer”
It aggravates me that I still don’t know what to do when confronted with van Gogh. I still want to say too much too soon, but I’ve learned to look u...
Hadewijch II, “You who want knowledge…”
The briefest description of my life: “in exile.” In some ways, it’s not so bad. I can’t say I lack materially, though I would like bette...
C.P. Cavafy, “Che Fece… Il Gran Refiuto”
Dante’s Inferno, Canto III.59-60, tells of “those ill spirits both to God displeasing and to His foes.” The internal torment of not feeling de...
Emily Dickinson, “Fairer through Fading — as the Day” (938)
Bad memories such as regrets don’t strike in a flash of pain and go away. No, they linger, exhausting their holder, and not just because they’re lab...