Eine sicherlich gute Einführung in die englischsprachige Poesie ist die Seite http://www.poets.org Sie bietet unter anderem auch eine Übersicht zu verschiedenen Strömungen und ihren Trägern. Darunter wird man Walt Whitman finden, der bei uns eher unbekannt geblieben ist. Ich zumindest stieß erst diese Woche durch ein Gedicht von Federico García Lorca auf ihn.
When We Two Parted
by George Gordon, Lord Byron
When we two parted
In silence and tears,
Half broken-hearted
To sever for years,
Pale grew thy cheek and cold,
Colder thy kiss;
Truly that hour foretold
Sorrow to this.
The dew of the morning
Sunk chill on my brow--
It felt like the warning
Of what I feel now.
Thy vows are all broken,
And light is thy fame;
I hear thy name spoken,
And share in its shame.
They name thee before me,
A knell to mine ear;
A shudder comes o'er me--
Why wert thou so dear?
They know not I knew thee,
Who knew thee too well--
Long, long shall I rue thee,
Too deeply to tell.
In secret we met--
In silence I grieve,
That thy heart could forget,
Thy spirit deceive.
If I should meet thee
After long years,
How should I greet thee?--
With silence and tears.
A True Account of Talking to the Sun at Fire Island
by Frank O´Hara
"Go back to sleep
now
Frank, and I may leave a tiny poem
in that brain of yours as my farewell."
"Sun, don't go!" I was awake
at last. "No, go I must, they're calling
me."
"Who are they?"
Rising he said "Some
day you'll know. They're calling to you
too." Darkly he rose, and then I slept.
