Poetry

Sestina: Castoff

I scoffed at Portugal; I spat; sucked wine.
A mountebank, naughty-back*, of the sea,
Was I: Thus, “patriots” chipped off my face;
Chopped my visage; played Carnage; carved red ink;
Lopped my nose, tongue, ears, and right hand; …

*(Translations from Romanian by Diana Manole and Adam J. Sorkin)

Sisyphus. Black

You pile chiselled lines on top of each blow
given or received,
metaphors or quotations, learned ironies or images
that bleed English, French, German,
and ejaculate Latin.
“An …