Read A Little Poetry
@readalittlepoem.bsky.social
Holding poets to the light • A passion project by @andhow.bsky.social • est 2005 • https://readalittlepoetry.com/ • https://ko-fi.com/readalittlepoem • Poet's Field Notes (tdelosreyes.substack.com)
“Out late was all he said. And then smiled, / rubbing the small of my back through the robe / for a while,”
— James Crews
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This poem appeared in Healing the Divide by James Crews, published by Green Writers Press, 2019. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— James Crews
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This poem appeared in Healing the Divide by James Crews, published by Green Writers Press, 2019. Shared here with deep gratitude.
December 15, 2025 at 2:01 PM
“Out late was all he said. And then smiled, / rubbing the small of my back through the robe / for a while,”
— James Crews
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This poem appeared in Healing the Divide by James Crews, published by Green Writers Press, 2019. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— James Crews
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This poem appeared in Healing the Divide by James Crews, published by Green Writers Press, 2019. Shared here with deep gratitude.
“To kiss the lips is to drink water.”
— Marina Tsvetaeva
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This poem appeared in Words Without Borders, 2005. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Marina Tsvetaeva
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This poem appeared in Words Without Borders, 2005. Shared here with deep gratitude.
December 14, 2025 at 2:01 PM
“To kiss the lips is to drink water.”
— Marina Tsvetaeva
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This poem appeared in Words Without Borders, 2005. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Marina Tsvetaeva
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This poem appeared in Words Without Borders, 2005. Shared here with deep gratitude.
“your shoulder blades will ache for want of wings.”
— Nina Cassian
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This poem appeared in the Call Yourself Alive by Nina Cassian, translated by Andrea Deletant & Brenda Walker, published by Dufour Editions, 1996. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Nina Cassian
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This poem appeared in the Call Yourself Alive by Nina Cassian, translated by Andrea Deletant & Brenda Walker, published by Dufour Editions, 1996. Shared here with deep gratitude.
December 13, 2025 at 2:01 PM
“your shoulder blades will ache for want of wings.”
— Nina Cassian
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This poem appeared in the Call Yourself Alive by Nina Cassian, translated by Andrea Deletant & Brenda Walker, published by Dufour Editions, 1996. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Nina Cassian
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This poem appeared in the Call Yourself Alive by Nina Cassian, translated by Andrea Deletant & Brenda Walker, published by Dufour Editions, 1996. Shared here with deep gratitude.
“The world asks of us / only the strength we have and we give it. / Then it asks more, and we give it.”
— Jane Hirshfield
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This poem appeared in The October Palace by Jane Hirshfield, published by HarperCollins, 1994. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Jane Hirshfield
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This poem appeared in The October Palace by Jane Hirshfield, published by HarperCollins, 1994. Shared here with deep gratitude.
December 12, 2025 at 2:01 PM
“The world asks of us / only the strength we have and we give it. / Then it asks more, and we give it.”
— Jane Hirshfield
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This poem appeared in The October Palace by Jane Hirshfield, published by HarperCollins, 1994. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Jane Hirshfield
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This poem appeared in The October Palace by Jane Hirshfield, published by HarperCollins, 1994. Shared here with deep gratitude.
“This being human is a guest house. / Every morning a new arrival.”
— Rumi
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This poem appeared in Rumi: Selected Poems by Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks with John Moynce, A. J. Arberry, Reynold Nicholson, published by Penguin Classics, 2004. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Rumi
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This poem appeared in Rumi: Selected Poems by Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks with John Moynce, A. J. Arberry, Reynold Nicholson, published by Penguin Classics, 2004. Shared here with deep gratitude.
December 11, 2025 at 2:01 PM
“This being human is a guest house. / Every morning a new arrival.”
— Rumi
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This poem appeared in Rumi: Selected Poems by Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks with John Moynce, A. J. Arberry, Reynold Nicholson, published by Penguin Classics, 2004. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Rumi
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This poem appeared in Rumi: Selected Poems by Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks with John Moynce, A. J. Arberry, Reynold Nicholson, published by Penguin Classics, 2004. Shared here with deep gratitude.
“the enormous / hocus of your trembling pocus”
— Chen Chen (@chenchenwrites.bsky.social)
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This poem appeared in Split This Rock, 2023. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Chen Chen (@chenchenwrites.bsky.social)
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This poem appeared in Split This Rock, 2023. Shared here with deep gratitude.
December 10, 2025 at 2:02 PM
“the enormous / hocus of your trembling pocus”
— Chen Chen (@chenchenwrites.bsky.social)
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This poem appeared in Split This Rock, 2023. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Chen Chen (@chenchenwrites.bsky.social)
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This poem appeared in Split This Rock, 2023. Shared here with deep gratitude.
“Whoever has no house now will establish none,”
— Rainer Maria Rilke
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This poem appeared in The Essential Rilke by Rainer Maria Rilke, published by Ecco, 1999. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Rainer Maria Rilke
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This poem appeared in The Essential Rilke by Rainer Maria Rilke, published by Ecco, 1999. Shared here with deep gratitude.
December 9, 2025 at 2:01 PM
“Whoever has no house now will establish none,”
— Rainer Maria Rilke
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This poem appeared in The Essential Rilke by Rainer Maria Rilke, published by Ecco, 1999. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Rainer Maria Rilke
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This poem appeared in The Essential Rilke by Rainer Maria Rilke, published by Ecco, 1999. Shared here with deep gratitude.
“taste buds only live for two weeks, but that was before / I tasted the eternal language of home.”
— Tiffany Aurelia
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This poem appeared in West Trestle Review, 2025. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Tiffany Aurelia
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This poem appeared in West Trestle Review, 2025. Shared here with deep gratitude.
December 8, 2025 at 2:01 PM
“taste buds only live for two weeks, but that was before / I tasted the eternal language of home.”
— Tiffany Aurelia
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This poem appeared in West Trestle Review, 2025. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Tiffany Aurelia
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This poem appeared in West Trestle Review, 2025. Shared here with deep gratitude.
“there god knew me not as a slave or fool / but crowned me son held me to her chest”
— Saida Agostini
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This poem appeared in Diode Poetry, Volume 17 Number 3, 2024. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Saida Agostini
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This poem appeared in Diode Poetry, Volume 17 Number 3, 2024. Shared here with deep gratitude.
December 7, 2025 at 2:01 PM
“there god knew me not as a slave or fool / but crowned me son held me to her chest”
— Saida Agostini
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This poem appeared in Diode Poetry, Volume 17 Number 3, 2024. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Saida Agostini
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This poem appeared in Diode Poetry, Volume 17 Number 3, 2024. Shared here with deep gratitude.
“Have you ever seen heaven? I asked. / From where, with whom?”
— Yong-Yu Huang
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This poem appeared in Muzzle Magazine, Spring 2025, Issue 36. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Yong-Yu Huang
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This poem appeared in Muzzle Magazine, Spring 2025, Issue 36. Shared here with deep gratitude.
December 6, 2025 at 2:01 PM
“Have you ever seen heaven? I asked. / From where, with whom?”
— Yong-Yu Huang
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This poem appeared in Muzzle Magazine, Spring 2025, Issue 36. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Yong-Yu Huang
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This poem appeared in Muzzle Magazine, Spring 2025, Issue 36. Shared here with deep gratitude.
“Nothing outside can cure you but everything's outside”
— Bernadette Mayer
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This poem appeared in A Bernadette Mayer Reader by Bernadette Mayer, published by New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1992. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Bernadette Mayer
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This poem appeared in A Bernadette Mayer Reader by Bernadette Mayer, published by New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1992. Shared here with deep gratitude.
December 5, 2025 at 2:03 PM
“Nothing outside can cure you but everything's outside”
— Bernadette Mayer
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This poem appeared in A Bernadette Mayer Reader by Bernadette Mayer, published by New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1992. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Bernadette Mayer
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This poem appeared in A Bernadette Mayer Reader by Bernadette Mayer, published by New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1992. Shared here with deep gratitude.
“The heart is watching Lifetime movies / and wishing, and missing all the good / parts of her that she has forgotten.”
— Ada Limón
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This poem appeared in Guernica, 2011. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Ada Limón
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This poem appeared in Guernica, 2011. Shared here with deep gratitude.
December 4, 2025 at 2:02 PM
“The heart is watching Lifetime movies / and wishing, and missing all the good / parts of her that she has forgotten.”
— Ada Limón
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This poem appeared in Guernica, 2011. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Ada Limón
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This poem appeared in Guernica, 2011. Shared here with deep gratitude.
“Even a goose knows how to find / shelter, where the corn still lies in the stubble and dried stalks.”
— Barbara Crooker
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This poem appeared in Radiance by Barabara Crooker, published by Word Press, 2005. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Barbara Crooker
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This poem appeared in Radiance by Barabara Crooker, published by Word Press, 2005. Shared here with deep gratitude.
December 3, 2025 at 2:02 PM
“Even a goose knows how to find / shelter, where the corn still lies in the stubble and dried stalks.”
— Barbara Crooker
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This poem appeared in Radiance by Barabara Crooker, published by Word Press, 2005. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Barbara Crooker
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This poem appeared in Radiance by Barabara Crooker, published by Word Press, 2005. Shared here with deep gratitude.
“I saw the half-eaten / sandwich, / bread, / lettuce and salami, / all carrying the shape / of her bite.”
— A. K. Ramanujam
— A. K. Ramanujam
December 2, 2025 at 2:01 PM
“I saw the half-eaten / sandwich, / bread, / lettuce and salami, / all carrying the shape / of her bite.”
— A. K. Ramanujam
— A. K. Ramanujam
“I opened my eyes then and got right up / and went back to being happy again. / I'm grateful to you, you see. I wanted to tell you.”
— Raymond Carver
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This poem appeared in Poetry Magazine, 1985. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Raymond Carver
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This poem appeared in Poetry Magazine, 1985. Shared here with deep gratitude.
December 1, 2025 at 2:02 PM
“I opened my eyes then and got right up / and went back to being happy again. / I'm grateful to you, you see. I wanted to tell you.”
— Raymond Carver
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This poem appeared in Poetry Magazine, 1985. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Raymond Carver
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This poem appeared in Poetry Magazine, 1985. Shared here with deep gratitude.
“My God. How lucky to have lived / a life I would die for.”
— Leila Chatti
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This poem appeared in Poem-a-Day by the Academy of American Poets, 2023. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Leila Chatti
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This poem appeared in Poem-a-Day by the Academy of American Poets, 2023. Shared here with deep gratitude.
November 30, 2025 at 2:01 PM
“My God. How lucky to have lived / a life I would die for.”
— Leila Chatti
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This poem appeared in Poem-a-Day by the Academy of American Poets, 2023. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Leila Chatti
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This poem appeared in Poem-a-Day by the Academy of American Poets, 2023. Shared here with deep gratitude.
“The thing about instability is we rarely see it / coming.”
— Rachelle Sierra
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This poem appeared in Frozen Sea (@frozenseapoetry.bsky.social), Issue 6, 2024. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Rachelle Sierra
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This poem appeared in Frozen Sea (@frozenseapoetry.bsky.social), Issue 6, 2024. Shared here with deep gratitude.
November 29, 2025 at 2:01 PM
“The thing about instability is we rarely see it / coming.”
— Rachelle Sierra
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This poem appeared in Frozen Sea (@frozenseapoetry.bsky.social), Issue 6, 2024. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Rachelle Sierra
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This poem appeared in Frozen Sea (@frozenseapoetry.bsky.social), Issue 6, 2024. Shared here with deep gratitude.
“we worry. this world can hurt / our heaviest leaden days; eyes wet with awe,”
— Katia Engell
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This poem appeared in Epiphany, Spring/Summer Issue, 2025. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Katia Engell
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This poem appeared in Epiphany, Spring/Summer Issue, 2025. Shared here with deep gratitude.
November 28, 2025 at 2:01 PM
“we worry. this world can hurt / our heaviest leaden days; eyes wet with awe,”
— Katia Engell
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This poem appeared in Epiphany, Spring/Summer Issue, 2025. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Katia Engell
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This poem appeared in Epiphany, Spring/Summer Issue, 2025. Shared here with deep gratitude.
“I am / not ready to hatch. Teach me / to harden in the air”
— Dominique Ahkong (@domkeykong.bsky.social)
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This poem appeared in Pirene’s Fountain Volume 18, Issue 26, 2025. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Dominique Ahkong (@domkeykong.bsky.social)
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This poem appeared in Pirene’s Fountain Volume 18, Issue 26, 2025. Shared here with deep gratitude.
November 27, 2025 at 2:01 PM
“I am / not ready to hatch. Teach me / to harden in the air”
— Dominique Ahkong (@domkeykong.bsky.social)
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This poem appeared in Pirene’s Fountain Volume 18, Issue 26, 2025. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Dominique Ahkong (@domkeykong.bsky.social)
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This poem appeared in Pirene’s Fountain Volume 18, Issue 26, 2025. Shared here with deep gratitude.
“After it was done, I couldn’t go back to my life. You understand, right? It wasn’t the same.”
— Ada Limón
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This poem appeared in Bright Dead Things by Ada Limón, published by Milkweed Editions, 2015. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Ada Limón
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This poem appeared in Bright Dead Things by Ada Limón, published by Milkweed Editions, 2015. Shared here with deep gratitude.
November 25, 2025 at 2:01 PM
“After it was done, I couldn’t go back to my life. You understand, right? It wasn’t the same.”
— Ada Limón
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This poem appeared in Bright Dead Things by Ada Limón, published by Milkweed Editions, 2015. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Ada Limón
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This poem appeared in Bright Dead Things by Ada Limón, published by Milkweed Editions, 2015. Shared here with deep gratitude.
“That perhaps our / universe exists as one fabric weaved / into a shirt and our beyond just wool.”
— Emily M. Goldsmith
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This poem appeared in Vagabond City Literary Journal, 2020. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Emily M. Goldsmith
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This poem appeared in Vagabond City Literary Journal, 2020. Shared here with deep gratitude.
November 24, 2025 at 2:01 PM
“That perhaps our / universe exists as one fabric weaved / into a shirt and our beyond just wool.”
— Emily M. Goldsmith
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This poem appeared in Vagabond City Literary Journal, 2020. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Emily M. Goldsmith
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This poem appeared in Vagabond City Literary Journal, 2020. Shared here with deep gratitude.
“If I am killed / for simply living, / let death be kinder / than man.”
— Althea Davis
— Althea Davis
November 23, 2025 at 2:01 PM
“If I am killed / for simply living, / let death be kinder / than man.”
— Althea Davis
— Althea Davis
“How many of my brothers and my sisters / will they kill / before I teach myself / retaliation?”
— June Jordan
— June Jordan
November 22, 2025 at 2:01 PM
“How many of my brothers and my sisters / will they kill / before I teach myself / retaliation?”
— June Jordan
— June Jordan
“A blot / Of blood, about the size of the sun / Or my thumb. It was ages ago. / I can still hear it.”
— Omar Sakr (@omarsakr.bsky.social)
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This poem appeared in Cordite Poetry Review, 2024. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Omar Sakr (@omarsakr.bsky.social)
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This poem appeared in Cordite Poetry Review, 2024. Shared here with deep gratitude.
November 21, 2025 at 2:01 PM
“A blot / Of blood, about the size of the sun / Or my thumb. It was ages ago. / I can still hear it.”
— Omar Sakr (@omarsakr.bsky.social)
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This poem appeared in Cordite Poetry Review, 2024. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Omar Sakr (@omarsakr.bsky.social)
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This poem appeared in Cordite Poetry Review, 2024. Shared here with deep gratitude.
“In violence / there is no reciprocity / like rain on soil”
— Simon Shieh (@simonshieh.bsky.social)
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This poem appeared in The Missouri Review, 2020. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Simon Shieh (@simonshieh.bsky.social)
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This poem appeared in The Missouri Review, 2020. Shared here with deep gratitude.
November 20, 2025 at 2:01 PM
“In violence / there is no reciprocity / like rain on soil”
— Simon Shieh (@simonshieh.bsky.social)
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This poem appeared in The Missouri Review, 2020. Shared here with deep gratitude.
— Simon Shieh (@simonshieh.bsky.social)
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This poem appeared in The Missouri Review, 2020. Shared here with deep gratitude.