Diary of a Wave Outside the Sea
Of all my letters, there was one that I read again and again. It was a love letter. Of all my pictures, there was one that I stared at for long… More
In the Time of Jaguars
Having lived many years in the scrub grass in the way of birds/ The boy took on a bird’s kind of stare—/ He obtained a fountain-esque vision./ he observed… More
Tikkun, Evening Prayer
Tikkun (Midnight Prayer)The Caesars who built the citiesdidn’t intend this kind of silencein which trees tear up the air’s shelter with their growthand the lazy moon journeys in the… More
Cope’s Rule, Nepenthe, Magpie Lark
Cope’s RuleAccording to Edward Drinker Cope,nineteenth-century paleontologist, fossil records showlineages become larger over millenniaindicating that bigger is more successful.Though later scientists offered further support for Cope's rule,from mammals to… More
Fady Joudah: Proof of Kindness, Checkpoint
Fady Joudah was a finalist for the 2008 Poetry in Translation Award for The Butterfly’s Burden, a collection of three recent books by Mahmoud Darwish. Proof of KindnessTaxi driver drives… More
Wayward Surmises
Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests offerthe pleasure of compulsive organization(I’m writing five words perline): pleasure of dividing attentivenessinto constituent bits: sadistic pleasureof forcing others (viewers, subjects)to do your bidding: refusenikpleasure… More
Mahmoud Darwish: They Didn’t Ask: What’s After Death, Nothing Pleases Me
What will we do before this death? Near/ our lives we live, and don’t live. As if our lives/ are desert lots disputed by the gods/ of real estate,… More
Agua de bordes lúbricos / Water’s Lubricious Edges
Water of jellyfish, lacteal, sinuous water, water of lubricious borders; glassy thickness—Deliquescence in delectable contours. Water—sumptuous water of involution, of languor More
Dad’s Poem
In bed surrounded by humid darkness,Hand-carved hearts above and below.Your snoring echoes across the hall,Halls vapor clings to your breath.My tired belly full of hunted venison.My head full of… More
The Season
The lawn’s a frigid jigsaw puzzle of frozen brown grass Shut in for winter I sip your best scotch Your car is listed for sale in the auto shopper There’s no tree… More