Author: Charles Simic

Boss of all bosses of the universe. Mr. know-it-all, wheeler-dealer, wire-puller, And whatever else you’re good at. Go ahead, shuffle […]

It seemed the kind of life we wanted. Wild strawberries and cream in the morning. Sunlight in every room. The […]

I liked my little hole, Its window facing a brick wall. Next door there was a piano. A few evenings […]

A world’s disappearing. Little street, You were too narrow, Too much in the shade already. You had only one dog, […]

Befriending an eccentric young woman The sole resident of a secluded Victorian mansion. She takes long walks in the evening […]

for Hayden Carruth If you didn’t see the six-legged dog, It doesn’t matter. We did, and he mostly lay in […]

The obvious is difficult To prove. Many prefer The hidden. I did, too. I listened to the trees. They had […]

1. The Poet Someone awake when others are sleeping, Asleep when others are awake. An illiterate who signs everything with […]

Executioner happy to explain How his wristwatch works As he shadows me on the street. I call him that because […]

The night still frightens you. You know it is interminable And of vast, unimaginable dimensions. “That’s because His insomnia is […]

Where it says snow Read teeth-marks of a virgin Where it says knife read You passed through my bones Like […]

Seems like a long time Since the waiter took my order. Grimy little luncheonette, The snow falling outside. Seems like […]

On the road with billowing poplars, In a country flat and desolate To the far-off gray horizon, wherein obscurely, A […]

Millions were dead; everybody was innocent. I stayed in my room. The President Spoke of war as of a magic […]

Enter without knocking, hard-working ant. I’m just sitting here mulling over What to do this dark, overcast day? It was […]

As an ant is powerless Against a raised boot, And only has an instant To have a bright idea or […]

Here come my night thoughts On crutches, Returning from studying the heavens. What they thought about Stayed the same, Stayed […]

One shows me how to lie down in a field of clover. Another how to slip my hand under her […]

How much death works, No one knows what a long Day he puts in. The little Wife always alone Ironing […]

Where the path to the lake twists out of sight, A puff of dust, the kind bare feet make running, […]