When I had finished the broth the owner of the food stall came up to me. I looked like a hungry man to her, but I’m really just a sad and skinny one:
“If you want, you can order the main course, young man. Don’t worry about the money.” I thanked her, embarrassed. I didn’t want to be rude, but the melancholy mammal I am eats just enough to not faint.
Outside, the wind knocked over a little metal sign.
The noise turned our heads and we saw that it was raining on the opposite corner, but not on ours.
The daughter of one of the cooks went running to make sure we weren’t dreaming. I followed her. So did the owner, the cooks, and the customers who were still around. We stood there for two or three minutes, dry watching the rain.
At Stonecoast MFA, you will find inspiration, support, and fellowship. (Isn’t that poetry?)
Stonecoast MFA is a two-year low-residency creative writing program based in Maine. We are committed to advancing social justice and to nurturing the writer’s vision.
Victoria Chang and Dean Rader explore Donika Kelly's new book, The Renunciations. "The book’s structure allows the reader to see the stitching in the poems’ clothing. I felt brought along the process of the speaker’s reckoning, along a nonlinear and painful but also revelatory path."
"To translate Šimić into English requires constant pruning, knocking phrases down to their lowest common denominator. My goal was faithfulness to the original while maintaining the spare intensity of Šimić’s lines, and our conversations often grew heated. I came to crave the moment my father snapped his fingers to demonstrate that I had unlocked the mystery in English."
Poetry Daily stands with the Black community. We oppose racism, oppression, and police brutality. We will continue to amplify diverse voices in the poetry world.
