Poverty Poems
Peruvian Tales: Cora, Tale Vi
by Helen Maria Williams
The troops of ALMAGRO and ALPHONSO meet on the plain of CUZCO --. MANCO -CAPAC attacks them by nights--His army is defeated, and he is forced to fly with its scattered remains--CORA goes in search of him-- Her infant in her arms--Overcome with fatigue, she rests at the foot of a mountain--An earthquake--A band of Indians fly to the mountain for shelter--CORA discovers her husband--Their interview--Her death --He escapes with his infant--ALMAGRO claims a share of the spoils of Cuzco--His contention with PIZARRO --The Spaniards destroy each other--ALMAGRO is taken prisoner, and put to death--His soldiers, in revenge, assassinate PIZARRO in his palace--LAS CASAS dies--The annual festival of the PERUVIANS --Their victories over the Spaniards in Chili--A wish for the restoration of their liberty--Conclusion.
At length ALMAGRO and ALPHONSO'S train,
Each peril past, unite on Cuzco's plain;
CAPAC resolves beneath the shroud of night
To pierce the hostile camp, and brave the fight;
Though weak the wrong'd PERUVIANS ' arrowy showers
To the dire weapons stern IBERIA pours,
Fierce was th' unequal contest, for the soul,
When rais'd by some high passion's strong controul,
New strings the nerves, and o'er the glowing frame
......
Ch 03 On The Excellence Of Contentment Story 03
by Saadi Shirazi
I heard that a dervish, burning in the fire of poverty and sewing patch upon patch, said to comfort his mind:
‘We are contented with dry bread and a patched robe
For it is easier to bear the load of one’s own trouble
than that of thanks to others.’
Someone said to him: ‘Why sittest thou? A certain man in this town possesses a benevolent nature, is liberal to all, has girded his loins to serve the pious and is ready to comfort every heart. If he becomes aware of thy case, he will consider it an obligation to comfort the mind of a worthy person.’ He replied: ‘Hush! It is better to die of inanition than to plead for one’s necessities before any man.’
It is better to patch clothes and sit in the corner of patience
Than to write petitions for robes to gentlemen.
......
Silence
by Edgar Lee Masters
I have known the silence of the stars and of the sea,
And the silence of the city when it pauses,
And the silence of a man and a maid,
And the silence of the sick
When their eyes roam about the room.
And I ask: For the depths,
Of what use is language?
A beast of the field moans a few times
When death takes its young.
And we are voiceless in the presence of realities --
......
Paris
by Alan Seeger
First, London, for its myriads; for its height,
Manhattan heaped in towering stalagmite;
But Paris for the smoothness of the paths
That lead the heart unto the heart's delight. . . .
Fair loiterer on the threshold of those days
When there's no lovelier prize the world displays
Than, having beauty and your twenty years,
You have the means to conquer and the ways,
And coming where the crossroads separate
And down each vista glories and wonders wait,
......
Scribbles On The Poverty Line
by Ibtisam Barakat
When I was a girl in a poor family
we hung our clothes to dry on the povertyline,
and with it I jumped rope.
My friends saw and joined me.
We were hoping to learn to jump over
endless obstacles and walls...
Our poverty line was generous and plentiful,
it ran from house to house like telephone wiring
made of rich gossip.
......
Retrenched Women
by Ghairo Daniels
The soul aches
numbs the brain
Pictures float away of women
crying, laughing, ironing sheets
thinking about jobs and sex
finding work and
cooking cheap spaghetti
Playing with malnourished children
......
"La Bohème"
by Mario Odekerken
Een kamer vol kou,
maar het licht van een olielamp
maakt de muren zacht.
De tafel is leeg
behalve papier,
behalve dromen
die groter zijn dan brood.
Vrienden lachen,
......
La Bohème
by Mario Odekerken
Ein Zimmer voller Kälte,
doch das Licht einer Öllampe
macht die Wände weich.
Der Tisch ist leer,
außer Papier,
außer Träumen,
die großer sind als Brot.
Freunde lachen,
......
Search for Consciousness
by Lokenath Roy
the expanse of the splintering fire flames flash
across space time, pouring onto grey pupils.
I like how they appear once, and then in another form: another.
lanterns of tinted glass in power starved the rural households,
streaking through bland darkness.
arrival of the faintest rays from the shaded corner of the
mud brick encased kitchen,
lights the letters on the pages to life.
......
Anatomy of a Pyre
by Lokenath Roy
tugging down hair strands,
right where the foot of the flame breaks even—
outreaching from a coarsen rug; in little time
cheeks crater out. engulfing the blessed cry of departure.
have you watched the fire spread on a pyre? the last time the muscles
twitch.
human skin of pastel gorges beneath the river, yellow.
the danube devotes praises to the blue skies of distant dawn.
......
