“exactly the forehead, exactly the mouth, exactly the hands”

exactly the forehead, exactly the mouth, exactly the hands
with that same dirty stain near the fingernail


with little braids
in an old-fashioned dress
with a dahlia at the cheek, a strawberry at the lips
in that blue grey band in the hair


(and: will the ash blossom?)


For the next poem in this sequence, click here.

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Poetry From the November 2005 issue: Seoul Searching

Krystyna MilobedzkaKrystyna Milobedzka

Krystyna Milobedzka (1932) is a poet and author of plays for children, as well as a scholar of children's theater. She has published ten volumes of poetry and has been awarded many of the poetry awards of Poland.

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Translated from PolishPolish by Alissa VallesAlissa Valles

Alissa Valles is a poet and translator from Russian and Polish. She has worked for the Institute of War Documentation in Amsterdam, where she grew up, and is now working toward a doctorate in the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago.

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