Who among you be Ailanthus, The Witness-Who-Reaches High? If you question, you are elm beaten down by exhaust or calloused feet If you spring up in expectance, you are the frond of Ailanthus Absurd in its giving Of shade to the dreamless street. Who among you be Ailanthus, The Witness-Who-Reaches-High? Who among you be fair […]
Tag Archives: poetry
Ailanthus: a poem
By John Marin —————————————————– AILANTHUS Please take a moment and think about the Ailanthus. No-one plans it. No-one plants it. No-one waters, Or prunes, Or sprays it, Or gives it plant food or weed killer or even manure. It squeezes between tall buildings, Through sidewalk gratings, And cracks in concrete, And in angles of fences […]
Eid Mubarak, Selamat Hari Raya
Two, three cat running Not the same dog running Two, three day more raya coming Everything is ready huh?? Pandan Island far-far in the middle Daik Mountain has three branches During Ramadhan everybody struggles So during Syawal don’t spoil the chances Jump frog jump Jump high-high What knowledge u try Ketupat rendang very delicious High-high […]
Ithaca
Ithaca by C. P. Cavafy
TS Eliot: Four Quartets
The great poet TS Eliot uses Ailanthus altissima in his poem “Four Quartets”. Here is the opening stanza of the third Quartet, The Dry Salvages: I do not know much about gods; but I think that the river Is a strong brown god—sullen, untamed and intractable, Patient to some degree, at first recognised as a […]
I’m not a reader of
I’m not a reader of poetry. But this poem was presented to me at my wedding by my grade-school teacher, Rob Huchingson, now dearly departed. I have treasured it ever since. If all you’ve ever smelled is cologne or that thin alcohol-laced stuff they sell to ladies at Marshall Fields, you can hardly appreciate the […]