Cuckoo:/ off where it disappears—/a single island. Basho (trans. Barnhill)
Morning’s mourning dove
interrupts the dream’s joy
repeatedly, dis-
tant but near as breath.
Oceans and estuaries
echo the soft syl-
lables day and night.
Basho’s cuckoo—heard only
off in the distance.
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Author: Tom D'Evelyn
Tom D'Evelyn is a private editor and writing tutor in Cranston RI and, thanks to the web, across the US and in the UK. He can be reached at tom.develyn@comcast.net. D'Evelyn has a PhD in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley. Before retiring he held positions at The Christian Science Monitor, Harvard University Press, Boston University and Brown University. He ran a literary agency for ten years, publishing books by Leonard Nathan and Arthur Quinn, among others. Before moving to Portland OR he was managing editor at Single Island Press, Portsmouth NH. He blogs at http://tdevelyn.com and other sites.
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Metaxyturn Diaries 