My Aunts - by Adam Zagajewski - Translated by Clare Cavanagh Always caught up in what they called the practical side of life (theory was for Plato), up to their elbows in furniture, in bedding, in cupboards and kitchen gardens, they never neglected the lavender sachets that turned a linen... Read more →

Ambergris - by Stanley Kunitz - This body, tapped of every drop of breath, In vast corruption of its swollen pride, Proclaims itself the very whale of death; Yet, I believe, the hand that plumbs its side Will gather dissolution's sweet increase. Exquisite fern of death--in nature, ambergris. Meanwhile, thinking... Read more →

Taking Down the Tree - by Jane Kenyon - "Give me some light!" cries Hamlet's uncle midway through the murder of Gonzago. "Light! Light!" cry scattering courtesans. Here, as in Denmark, it's dark at four, and even the moon shines with only half a heart. The ornaments go down into... Read more →