Emily Dickinson, “A Letter is a joy of Earth” (1639)
Calling distance from others difficult is an understatement. If unloved, distance can be especially maddening. You might as well be a ghost in the world, seeing...
Category: poetry
Kyla Houbolt, “Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day”
In “Decline and Fall,” Evelyn Waugh throws his protagonist into prison. He then reports the protagonist became happier in prison because he did not have to worr...
Emily Dickinson, “Did We abolish Frost” (1014); Kay Ryan, “Crown”
Hass, in the translation below, lets Issa’s anger show. You can’t really say that a stoic or calm attitude is demonstrated here. Even if haiku may be considered...
Carolina Ebeid, “letter to the Corinthians”
41 as of yesterday. What echoes: “What do I have to show for it?” I’m not depressed thinking about it, but it’s tough to think through. It’s a nagging, aggravat...
Kay Ryan, “Atlas”
“Extreme exertion / isolates,” says the poem. My mind remembers being isolated from help. However, I did not think myself exerting much of anything, unless Olym...