Stephen Dobyns: No Map
To neither did I say how much
I loved them, nor express the extent of my fear.
Their bodies are delicate glass boxes
at which the world begins to fling its stones.
Stephen Dobyns: Santiago in Winter
He is gone now, the blind man, tidily dressed
in a suit of dust, with a dusty tie and dark glasses,
who played the clarinet on Paseo Huerfanos,
the paseo of the orphanage…
Stephen Dobyns: The Gardener
And he had imagined sitting in the evening
with his friend the Devil watching the small
human creatures frolic in the grass. They would
be like children, good natured and always singing.
When had he realized his mistake?
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Vox Populi now has almost 11,000 email subscribers. Every day we publish a carefully curated selection of poetry, essays, videos, music and art. Our regular contributors include Naomi Shihab Nye, … Continue reading
Stephen Dobyns: Pursuit
Each thing I do I rush through so I can do something else. In such a way do the days pass— a blend of stock car racing and the never … Continue reading
Stephen Dobyns: My Town
This happens occasionally in my town. Maybe it’s a sort of nervousness or hysteria, even displaced fervor, as if fervor were a kind of cloud or the fog that rolls … Continue reading
Stephen Dobyns: Tomatoes
A woman travels to Brazil for plastic surgery and a face-lift. She is sixty and has the usual desire to stay pretty. Once she is healed, she takes her new … Continue reading
Stephen Dobyns: Spider Web
There are stories that unwind themselves as simply
as a ball of string.
Stephen Dobyns: Stars
The man took the wrong fork in the road. It was out in the country. They saw no signs. It was getting dark. They began to blame each other. Should … Continue reading
Stephen Dobyns: Ducks
For David Fenza Warm in my truck by the lighthouse at Watch Hill on a sunny morning in mid-winter, I observe the ducks bobbing among ice-covered rocks and think of … Continue reading
Stephen Dobyns: Napatree Point
A mile from where I live is a beach where in winter I walk the dog, console myself with the ocean’s beauty and ponder the imponderables, like what to do … Continue reading
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