Category: Daily Poems

They were
so handsome
for the first time
my feet seemed to me
unacceptable
like two decrepit
firemen, firemen
unworthy
of that woven
fire,
of those glowing
socks.

from “Ode to my socks” by Pablo Neruda

I started Early – Took my Dog –

And visited the Sea –

The Mermaids in the Basement

Came out to look at me –

I
write because
I would like
to be used for
years after
my death. Not
only my body
will be compost
but the thoughts
I left during
my life.

from “Peanut Butter” by Eileen Myles

Someone clever once said
Women were not allowed pockets
In case they carried leaflets
To spread sedition
Which means unrest
To you & me
A grandiose word
For commonsense
Fairness
Kindness
Equality
So ladies, start sewing
Dangerous coats
Made of pockets & sedition

“Dangerous Coats” by Sharon Owens

(I can’t link to this one as it seems it was only available on a deleted Tweet?)

The swallows, about to return to the beams, went back to roost again;
The candle at my window, just going out, suddenly revived its light.

from “After Getting Drunk, Becoming Sober in the Night” by Po Chu-i

The fire in the leaf and grass
so green it seems
each summer the last summer.

from “Living” by Denise Levertov

“Detached” observer
of blossoms finds himself in time
intimate with them—

Saigyo (read here)

I sought a timeless truth: a flower’s glory
is just another form of dust.

-Ryokan (read here)

So his eyes can see too how it could all get gone,
ground down, melted, all away…

– Han Shan (read it here)

summer grasses—
all that remains
of warrior’s dreams

Matsuo Basho