Komunyakaa, Yusef 1996; 2003
Wednesday, May 14, 2003
Beauty, I’ve seen you
pressed hard against the windowpane.
But the ugliness was unsolved
in the heart & mouth.
I’ve seen the quick-draw artist
crouch among the chrysanthemums.
Do I need to say more?
– Yusef Komunyakaa, “Poetics”
Listen to Yusef Komunyakaa’s 2003 reading for the Poetry Center of Chicago reading series:
Yusef Komunyakaa begins at 7:17 minutes.
Audio recording of the Poetry Center Reading Series featuring Billy Collins, Andrei Codrescu, Ron Padgett, Lucille Clifton, Mark Perlberg, Li-Young Lee, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Anne Waldman, Yusef Komunyakaa, Lisel Mueller, Ted Kooser, Paul Carroll, Jorie Graham, and Paul Hoover.
Buy this audio recording featuring Yusef Komunyakaa⇒
If only he could touch her,
Her name like an old wish
In the stopped weather of salt
On a snail…
– Yusef Komunyakaa, “Lust”
Broadside of “Lust” by Yusuf Komunyakaa
Hand-to-hand: the two hugged each other
into a naked tussle, one riding the other’s back,
locking into a double embrace. One
forced the other to kiss the ground,
– Yusef Komunyakaa, “from Love in the Time of War“
Broadside of “from Love in the Time of War” by Yusef Komunyakaa
