THE POET’S GUIDE TO TRANSLATION by Arah Ko

Question everything: the creak
of the bridge and the crook
of the stair, be wary of the dry,
knocking trees, the ochre in
your daughter’s eyes—trust
nothing to be only what you ask
of it. Cherry blossoms
will remain strangers to you,
glass eels slip through tidal
pools, unnoticed. Watch snow
thicken and let yourself
be cold—then at last we will speak
the same language; the image
will open herself to you, and leaves
will still be leaves in translation.

Arah Ko is a writer from Hawai’i, author of Brine Orchid (YesYes Books 2025), and the chapbook Animal Logic (Bull City Press 2026). Her work was nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best of Net, and Best New Poets and is published in The American Poetry Review, Ninth Letter, The Threepenny Review, Waxwing, 32 Poems, Poetry Northwest, and elsewhere. Catch her at arahko.com.

2 February 2026