the pain
in the legs
the ache
in the heart
the chill
in the bones
so far
so very far
from home
heartache
Heartache by Cezmi Ersöz
Here we are alone again me and this pain within
again just you and I
put your hand in mine
shh! whatever you do don’t make me whine.
Oh my heartache deep within
put your hand in mine
let’s you and I find a way
not breathless in panic or shouting today
out of this deep dark forest echoing with howls. . .
My pain within, my heartache deep inside, oh you my love
here we are alone again
put your hand in mine
shh! whatever you do don’t make me whine. . .
translated by Jean Carpenter Efe
repeat mode: the holiday season
two out of
three nights
you’ve entered
my dreams
how far
you’ve traveled
through time
and space
and yet
look no older
than the day
I saw you
first
no wonder
there is
that pain
in my chest
once
again
the crack in my heart: for ZW
for the first time
in many years
I heard sorrow in your voice
the other night
as you said you wished
I was there
but more than miles separate us now
there are those years
and the hurt
we both inflicted
if only you spoke that way
before I left
maybe I would still be there
but now the only sound louder
than the pain in your voice
is the crack
my heart made
in my chest
In Autumn Morning by Sowol Kim
Under the far-off, pale-blue sky
rows of grey roofs flash.
The wind whines in the wood
through the ribbed trees.
Mists invade a mountain village
barely visible in the distance.
The rain has chilled the dawn air.
The stream freezes, studded with fallen leaves.
Memories coming alive in tears
whisper comfortingly to my soul
that cries wildly like an infant
cut with a knife.
Wasn’t there a time
when you were happy and light-hearted?
How the voice soothes,
a salve to my bruised heart.
I cry and cry at the voice,
without shame or hate.
from The Man’yoshu: Otomo No Yakamochi
The world is never
any more than just this—
I knew it all along,
but an aching heart
is still hard to bear.
translated by Ian Hideo Levy
Untitled Poem by Lady Akazome Emon
I should not have waited.
It would have been better
To have slept and dreamed,
Than to have watched night pass,
And this slow moon sink.
Leonard Durso 