Will Barber

Though the starlings mock you,
You must say, Yes
Though the long train of history leaves the station,
Though the children wave goodbye from distancing windows,... more »

Come praise the stars, the wind, the rain
That course the earth; come praise the pain
And pleasure that the years bring forth:
Praise every particle of the Universe.... more »

Flee, Jacinta - to the caldera
To escape the floods -
Fly, fly away.... more »

There was no reason
No reason at all.
Jacinta wept,
For no purpose.... more »

Please, señor,
¿May I refresh your drink?

You sit redfleshed, hairy... more »

Once again, Jacinta, I return.
Miguelito is not dead,
But he has changed his mind.... more »

The raindrops pound upon the nerves
The winds howl stringently, and sing
A song to fill a winter night, a surge
Of rage against a bitter fate, a king... more »

The thought of leaving
Left me, by evening.
'I will stay, ' I said, 'to watch the grass grow.
I will remain. When you hear the cricket,... more »

A man whose wounds were healed, perhaps,
Grew restive as the seasons lapsed;
Faltering footsteps, one by one,
Led him to snowy Lebanon.... more »

No matter what the dreams may say,
Mortal dreams must pass away,
Lost in sand and lost in snow,
Where all mortal dreams must go.... more »

See, I am full of clouds today,
Mists and winds and prophecy,
Living at the periphery
Of the holy ocean.... more »

Somewhere, far beyond the sky,
Fledglings by the millions fly -
Testing wings and tasting winds,
Preparing for the foreign lands.... more »

... more »

'Natasha, Natasha, ' cried Old Grandmother,
'Run, call the geese, draw water from the river,
Because the moon is rising over the mountains.'
Natasha spilled the river-water, left her waterfowl forgotten;... more »

Ghosts roam the night, to seek the sleepers out
And feast upon their dreams. Ghosts search the night
For old memories, the sound and sight
Of passions they have lost in silent ground.... more »

I wished upon the Moon, last night.
One never knows what She may do:
Deserts, and gardens of delight,
She rules. We lunatics pursue... more »

I am old enough to remember
So many things, so many things:

The blackbirds singing in the morning,... more »

The Law of Supply and Demand
Governs political enterprise:
Politicans sell such wool
As people need for their eyes.... more »

Some fathers died, some sons were killed;
Some were afraid, and some gung-ho;
Some went back against their will;
Some lusted for the chance, to go... more »

Rise up, you gentle heroes: rise up and sing a song.
Sing of the future, now: your dreams shall carry you along.

Ignore doubts sown by enemies who lead you to your fate: .... more »

There was a family of orphaned bunnies that lived in North Carolina,
And rains from Tropical Storm Ernesto flooded their burrow.
They had just gotten a new computer, and a DSL line. A
Torrent of rain caused - is this possible? - bunny brows to furrow.... more »

The man from the nether lands
Had such troubles on the mind,
He let his nose grow great
To sniff the winds,... more »

The man who cried against the wind
flew up through hurricanes of doubt
one season when the winter's rule
ran sternly; his arms were bright,... more »

The man who loved the sea
Had hands of iron;
By the time he came back from the sea,
His fingers were rusted to the bone.... more »

The Promised Land is anywhere
Good men do not live in fear,
But a liar must take care
Lest the the neighbors idly stare... more »