A Poem by Lâm Thị Mỹ Dạ

Như lúa hỏi đất Anh có tốt không ? Như cây hỏi gió Anh có tốt không ? Như mấy hỏi trời Anh có tốt không ? Trời anh mênh mông Mây em bay lượn

The Cry of Vietnam

Published in 1968, The Cry of Vietnam is a short collection of heart-breaking poems and stirring drawings by Thich Nhat Hanh and Vo-Dinh. The book’s epigraph is taken from the classic Vietnamese work, The Tale…

On Ferlinghetti’s Americus, I

For Dianne Lee and Lynette D’Amico When I first read Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s Americus,I just before The Book of Mev was published, I was energized by discovering how much it is a mish mash, full of…

A Poem by Heinrich Heine

Du bist wie eine Blume, so hold und schön und rein, Ich schau dich an, und Wehmut schleicht mir ins Herz hinein. Mir ist, als ob ich die Hände aufs Haupt dir legen sollt Betend,…

A Poem by Anryu Suharu

When, with breaking heart, I realize This world is only a dream, The oak tree looks radiant. –Kenneth Rexroth and Ikuko Atsumi, Women Poets of Japan

A Poem by Akiko Yosano

Even at nineteen I knew The violet would fade, The brook would dry up, And life would pass away. Tangled Hair: Selected Tanka from Midaregami trans. Sanford Goldstein and Seishi Shinoda