from Douglas Moore’s Art of Quotation
Month: June 2019
here yes here
here is a seed
here some earth
pour some water
gather some sun
wait a day
a month a year
a century perhaps
but here yes here
will be life
the custodian Ahmet
there is much
to admire
in the graceful sweep
of his broom
the easy smile
as he empties
the trash
a simple gift offered
a glass of cay
a handful of cherries
the hand covers
his heart
as a way of saying
thank you
my friend
“No one escapes the wilderness on the way to the promised land”
from Douglas Moore’s Art of Quotation
“No one escapes the wilderness on the way to the promised land”
Annie Dillard, writer
Vine-Grove by Nizar Qabbani (Kabbani)
Every man that will kiss you after me
will discover on your lips
a small vine-grove
which I planted.
translated by Lena Jayyusi & W.S. Merwin
from When I Love by Nizar Qabbani (Kabbani)
When I love a woman
all the trees
run barefoot toward me . . .
translated by Lena Jayyusi & Christopher Middleton
from Andalusian Diary by Nizar Qabbini (Kabbani)
Miranda Alafidra’s dense hair
breathing like an African forest
is a long love story
I have known many such tales in my time
and how they have nibbled my life away!
translated by Lena Jayyusi & Christopher Middleton
a belated Father’s Day poem: pasta e fagioli
my father
handed out towels
to the Republican elite
to dry themselves
after a workout
a dip in the pool
a shower
before they went home
to that perfect life
in Westchester County
while he took the subway
to Jamaica
caught the Bee Line Bus
home
90 minutes
if he was lucky
to a warmed up plate
at 9pm
of pasta e fagioli
the only heaven
he knew
Testimony of Guarantee by Nizar Qabbani (Kabbani)
You want a testimony of love from me
Signed in big letters?
I declare that you are
The last among women.
But why the testimony? Tell me,
Can the sea guarantee forever
The boundaries of an island?
translated by Lena Jayyusi & Jack Collom
A Man’s Nature by Nizar Qabbani (Kabbani)
A man’s needs one minute
to love a woman
and centuries to forget her.
translated by Lena Jayyusi & Christopher Middleton
Leonard Durso 