Poetry Magazine
Night
It's all right
Unless you're either lonely or under attack.
That strange effortful
Repositioning of yourself. Laundry, shopping,
Hours, the telephone—unless misinformed—
Only ever ringing for you, if it ever does.
The night—yours to decide,
Among drink, or books, or lying there.
On your back, or curled up.
An embarrassment of poverty.
Source: Poetry (June 2008).
Biography
Michael Hofmann’s annotated translation of Joseph Roth’s letters was just published by W.W. Norton; Impromptus, his Gottfried Benn translations, is expected later this year from Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Poem Categorization
SUBJECT Social Commentaries, Money & Economics
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Related
Audio
The Poetry Magazine Podcast: The Dark Has No Teeth- Poem of the Day: Portrait d’une Femme
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- THE LINEBACKER AND THE DERVISH
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