ISSUE FOUR
August 1998

Charles Simic

Charles Simic Charles Simic was born in Belgrade in 1938. He is the author of over 60 books including Walking the Black Cat, A Wedding in Hell and Hotel Insomnia, all from Hartcourt Brace. His book of prose poems The World Doesn't End was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1990. In addition to being anthologized many times over, his work has appeared in New Yorker, Poetry, and The Best American Poetry: for which he was the guest editor in 1992. Currently, he lives in New Hampshire with, among other things, a broken foot. This is his first appearance in an online magazine.
Leaving an Unknown City    Read Along with the Author


That mutt with ribs showing
We left standing near a garbage truck
With a most hopeful look,
His tail on the verge of happiness
As the train picked up speed
The outcome left open

With the dusk falling rapidly
Making the dusty windows reflect
Our five traveling companions
Sitting with hat-shrouded eyes,
The absent-minded smiles
Already firmly set on each face.

 

 

Charles Simic: Poetry
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