Tuesday, May 25, 2010

One Wobbly Ladder

from Song for the Dying

Before you get to the king-tree
Come back
Before you get to the peach-tree
Come back
Before you get to the line of fence
Come back
Before you get to the bushes
Come back

....Before you get to the fire
Come back
Before you get to the middle of the ladder
Come back

--Seminole Indian

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

One Recidivist Night

Sleeplessly
I watch over
the spring night—
but no amount of guarding
is enough to make it stay.

--Izumi Shikibu, translated by Jane Hirshfield