Preface xiv
ANONYMOUS EGYPTIAN (ca. 15 th–10th centuries BCE)
The little sycamore she planted 1
My lover is a lotus blossom 2
He is the love-wolf 3
SAPPHO (6th century BCE)
He is almost a god, a man beside you 4
I love 5
Eros seizes and shakes my very soul 6
ANAKREON (ca. 570 BCE)
Weaving a garland long ago 7
ASKLEPIADOS (ca. 320 BCE)
Think how unspeakably sweet 8
Didyme waved an olive branch at me 9
from THE SONG OF SONGS (ca. 3rd century BCE) 10
PRAXILLA (ca. 2nd century BCE?)
Peeking in through 19
ANONYMOUS GREEK (ca. 2nd century BCE?)
Whether I see you now 20
RUFINUS (ca. 2nd century BCE?)
Her foot sparkled like silver 21
How could I have known 22
MARCUS ARGENTARIUS (ca. 60 BCE)
I can't bear to watch your hips 23
Her perfect naked breast 24
CATULLUS (ca. 84–54 BCE)
He is like a god 25
My woman says she'd rather have me 26
Sweet sparrow, my lover's pet 27
Your sins have brought my mind so low 28
My lovely, sweet Ipsithilla 29
PHILODEMOS (fl. 75–35 BCE)
Xanthippe, singing at her lyre 30
OVID (43 BCE–17 CE)
Elegy to His Mistress 31
PETRONIUS ARBITER (d. 66 CE)
Doing, a Filthy Pleasure Is, and Short 33
TZU YEN (4th century)
Busy in the Spring 34
A Smile 35
Song 36
AGATHIAS SCHOLASTICUS (ca. 531–580)
Beautiful Melite, in the throes of middle age 37
COMETAS CHARTULARIUS (ca. 6th century)
Phyllis, loving Demophoon 38
PAULUS SILENTIARIUS (d. ca. 575)
And there lay the lovers, lip-locked 39
Come, give me kisses, Rhodope 40
Take off your clothes, my love! 41
Even clothed in wrinkles, dear Philinna 42
LI PO (701–762)
Women of Yueh 43
Blue Water 44
Resentment Near the Jade Steps 45
Longing for Someone 46
OTOMO NO YAKAMOCHI (718–785)
Late evening finally comes 47
When my wife left home 48
ANONYMOUS CHINESE (T'ang dynasty)
Lament 49
YUAN CHEN (779–831)
Remembering 50
Bamboo Mat 51
Elegy 52
Empty House 54
LI HO (791–817)
Melancholic 55
ARIWARA NO NARIHIRA (825–880)
Is that the same moon? 56
LI HSUN (855–930)
To the Tune: The Wine Spring ("Eternal autumn rain—") 57
To the Tune: The Wine Spring ("Rain falls . . .") 58
ANONYMOUS JAPANESE (10th century)
Early morning glows 59
As night follows night 60
ONO NO KOMACHI (fl. 9th century)
I long for him most 61
IZUMI SHIKIBU (970–1030)
My black hair tangled 62
When I think of you 63
LIU YUNG (987–1053)
Song 64
SAMUEL HA-NAGID (993–1056)
I'd sell my soul for that fawn 65
That's it—I love that fawn 66
OU-YANG HSIU (1007–1072)
Faint Thunder Drifts beneath the Willow 67
The Pool Is Full of Autumn Sky, Rippled by Gentle Breezes 68
Deep, Deep in the Shade of the Court 69
SU TUNG-P'O (1037–1101)
Remembering My Wife 70
LI CH'ING-CHAO (1084–1154)
Plum Blossoms 71
Spring at Wu Ling 72
Butterflies Love Flowers 73
The Washing Stream 74
Boat of Stars 75
MAHADEVIYAKKA (12th century)
On Her Decision to Stop Wearing Clothes 76
JELALUDDIN RUMI (1207–1273)
Like This 77
You That Love Lovers 80
When I See Your Face 81
What I want is to see your face 82
HSU TSAI-SSU (ca. 1300)
On Love 84
FRANCESCO PETRARCH (1304–1374)
If constancy in love . . . 85
Love delivers to me its sweetest thoughts 86
IKKYU SOJUN (1394–1481)
Face to Face with My Lover on Daito's Birthday 87
Song of the Dream Garden 88
My Hand Is Lady Mon's Hand 89
Night Talk in a Dream Chamber 90
My Love's Dark Place Is Fragrant like Narcissus 91
Elegy 92
KABIR (1398–1448)
Give up erotic games, Kabir 93
Sometimes, everywhere I look 94
VIDYAPATI (15th century)
First Love 95
MIRABAI (1498–1550)
Dark One 96
Don't block my way, friend 97
Having wet me with love 98
A glimpse of your body 99
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (1564–1616)
Sonnet CXXIX 100
BIHARI (1595–1664)
As if to lift my babe-in-arms 101
When I found her in the bathing pool 102
All day she studies her new love-bite in the mirror 103
Loveliness beyond words 104
ROBERT HERRICK (1591–1674)
Delight in Disorder 105
Clothes Do but Cheat and Cozen Us 106
Upon the Nipples of Julia's Breast 107
To His Mistress 108
ANNE BRADSTREET (1612–1672)
To My Dear and Loving Husband 109
SE PRAJ (17th century)
Your breasts will not fall 110
ANDREW MARVELL (1621–1678)
To His Coy Mistress 111
JOHN DRYDEN (1631–1700)
Song for a Girl 113
SOR JUANA INES DE LA CRUZ (1651–1695)
Which Contains a Fantasy Satisfied with a Love Befitting It 114
JONATHAN SWIFT (1667–1745)
Oysters 115
WILLIAM BLAKE (1757–1827)
from Visions 116
The Question Answer'd 117
JOHN KEATS (1795–1821)
Sharing Eve's Apple 118
ANONYMOUS SOMALI (ca. 19th century)
Woman's Love Song 119
WALT WHITMAN (1819–1892)
from I Sing the Body Electric 120
from I Sing the Body Electric 122
A Woman Waits for Me 124
I Am He That Aches with Love 127
City of Orgies 128
CHARLES BAUDELAIRE (1821–1867)
Possessed 129
ANONYMOUS CHINOOK (ca. 1888)
I won't care 130
EMILY DICKINSON (1830–1886)
Wild Nights 131
ANONYMOUS KWAKIUTL (ca. 1896)
Fires run through my body . . . 132
ANONYMOUS INUIT (ca. 1894–97)
Oxaitoq's Song 133
PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR (1872–1906)
Passion and Love 134
Longing 135
ANTONIO MACHADO (1875–1939)
If I were a poet 136
YOSANO AKIKO (1878–1942)
Spring quickly passes 137
A thousand strands 138
Are you still longing 139
ANNA AKHMATOVA (1889–1966)
The Guest 140
FEDERICO GARCIA-LORCA (1898–1936)
The Unfaithful Wife 142
PABLO NERUDA (1904–1973)
Body of a woman 145
Love Song 146
KENNETH REXROTH (1905–1982)
Sottoportico San Zaccana 147
Quietly 148
SA'ID 'AQL (b. 1912)
More Beautiful than Your Eyes 149
THOMAS MCGRATH (1916–1990)
A Coal Fire in Winter 151
HAYDEN CARRUTH (b. 1921)
Two Sonnets 152
DENISE LEVERTOV (b. 1923)
Our Bodies 154
The Mutes 156
CAROLYN KIZER (b. 1925)
The Glass 158
ROBERT CREELEY (b. 1926)
A Form of Women 159
The Rain 161
ADRIENNE RICH (b. 1929)
from Twenty-one Love Poems 162
ROBERTO SOSA (b. 1930)
The Most Ancient Names of Fire 163
ROBERT KELLY (b. 1935)
Poem for Easter 165
LUCILLE CLIFTON (b. 1936)
the women you are accustomed to 167
song at midnight 168
JAAN KAPLINSKI (b. 1941)
Night comes and extinguishes the numbers . . . 170
SAM HAMILL (b. 1943)
Ten Thousand Sutras 171
GIOCONDA BELL (b. 1948)
from Brief Lessons in Eroticism I 177
OLGA BROUMAS (b. 1949)
For Every Heart 177
Perpetua 178
MAURYA SIMON (b. 1950)
Shiva's Prowess 179
DORIANNE LAUX (b. 1952)
The Lovers 181
The Thief 183
Notes on the Poets 185
Credits 198
