By Thomas Page I played the saxophone in the eighth grade Which in hindsight Is the worst time to play the saxophone. I had an alto Which would blister in my teeth As I tried to move my hands along the brass keys Mimicking the basic songs of yore. I remember seating awkwardly Like the … Continue reading Alphabets: Mu
The Untranslatable: Litost
By Thomas Page The Untranslatable This is a series of poems of words that do not directly translate into English. I have tried to capture the essence of the word in a poem. In the pit of the stomachs mixing acids like cocktails In some melancholic bar sitting across a snowy window There is a … Continue reading The Untranslatable: Litost
The Untranslatable: Shouganai
By Thomas Page The Untranslatable This is a series of poems of words that do not directly translate into English. I have tried to capture the essence of the word in a poem. My grandfather has a rule about running late That when you are in the car You are in the car And can’t … Continue reading The Untranslatable: Shouganai
“album”
By Thomas Page I am student teaching a senior level class in Washington, DC. They have to write some poems on these prompts. I decided to try all 30 of them. However, I will not say what the prompt was but what it number was. Prompt #21 I listen to the whole thing as I … Continue reading “album”
“Piedmont”
By Thomas Page I am student teaching a senior level class in Washington, DC. They have to write some poems on these prompts. I decided to try all 30 of them. However, I will not say what the prompt was but what it number was. Prompt #20 It’s hard to find shoes in a men’s … Continue reading “Piedmont”
The Untranslatable: Yuputka
By Thomas Page This is a series of poems of words that do not directly translate into English. I have tried to capture the essence of the word in a poem. Walking barefoot in a glen ruled by the moon When the equinox is closer than the solstice was far The ground is alive … Continue reading The Untranslatable: Yuputka
Alphabets: Omega
By Thomas Page Endings either come too soon or too late. The theatergoers itching to move Watching the actor butcher the iamb times five; The shoe on the gas-pedal rolling the ankle With the hand primed on the horn; The pilgrims waiting for the pilgrimage to end So that they can lay their head on … Continue reading Alphabets: Omega
Alphabets: Psi
By Thomas Page I know the voice in my head but can’t describe it well. It accompanies me wherever I read And fills in the empty silences with reflection Like a fax machine chugging along in this day and age Sitting by a summer window Thinking of the birds and the leaves swaying in the … Continue reading Alphabets: Psi
Alphabets: Chi
By Thomas Page Sometimes but not always there is a chiasmus Between strangers as they pass And they just know that this was meant to happen Without a word to isolate them Or a gesture to consolidate them Just a moment to exist And share in something beyond what can be said In any tongue … Continue reading Alphabets: Chi
Alphabets: Phi
By Thomas Page There is a balance of things made by hands That pleases its eyes in its accordance To what should be and what will be Crafted in the image of something more than itself. This ratio called golden by the eye Sits like a shell circling on itself Like the Uzumaki upon itself … Continue reading Alphabets: Phi
Academy of the Heart And Mind 