Just over the horizon a great machine of death is roaring and
rearing. One can hear it always. Earthquake, starvation, the ever-
renewing field of corpse-flesh. In this valley the snow falls silently all day and out our window We see the curtain of it shifting and folding, hiding us away in
our little house, We see earth smoothened and beautified, made like a fantasy, the
snow-clad trees So graceful in a dream of peace. In our new bed, which is big
enough to seem like the north pasture almost With our two cats, Cooker and Smudgins, lying undisturbed in
the southeastern and southwestern corners, We lie loving and warm, looking out from time to time.
"Snowbound," we say. We speak of the poet Who lived with his young housekeeper long ago in the
mountains of the western province, the kingdom Of complete cruelty, where heads fell like wilted flowers and
snow fell for many months across the mouth Of the pass and drifted deep in the vale. In our kitchen the
maple-fire murmurs In our stove. We eat cheese and new-made bread and jumbo
Spanish olives That have been steeped in our special brine of jalapentildeos and
garlic and dill and thyme. We have a nip or two from the small inexpensive cognac that
makes us smile and sigh. For a while we close the immense index of images
which is Our lives--for instance, the child on the Mescalero reservation
in New Mexico in 1966 Sitting naked in the dirt outside his family's hut of tin and
cardboard, Covered with sores, unable to speak. But of course the child is
here with us now, We cannot close the index. How will we survive? We don't and
cannot know. Beyond the horizon a great unceasing noise is undeniable. The
machine May break through and come lurching into our valley at any
moment, at any moment. Cheers, baby. Here's to us. See how the curtain of snow wavers
Volunteers needed to translate poetry into different languages. Please help us correct the translation of these poems. We currently have 79,663 translations and are trying to create the largest and most accurate database of world poetry translations. We have started with machine translations which are very inaccurate. Please translate your favorite poem on this site. You will be given credit for your translation and a link to your site if desired. COPYRIGHT NOTICE: These poems have been gathered and submitted by many of people, and from many sources. Most have no copyright. However, some may may have copyrights. We have tried to collect poems that appear on many external sites where the author seems to want to disseminate. If you are an author and do not want your poetry translated into other languages then send a removal request and it will be promptly removed.
Attention: On Sun. Nov. 16th through Thurs. Nov. 20th, don't miss the pilot episodes of Unexplained with my good friend, George Noory, airing on the Sci Fi Channel at 11p (ET/PT). Topics include reincarnation, witchcraft, cryptozoology, UFOs, and strange tales.
Recent Treaty Signers
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Montel Williams
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