“Waiting for the Shadows to Close” © Bill Wolak

 

By

A cottage by the seaside.
He passed by me without noticing me.
He has done his duty by me.
The building must be finished by winter.
What is done by night, appears by day.
America was discovered by Columbus.
I know the students by sight, but not by name.
She took me by the hand, and led me to her father.
We express our thoughts by means of words.
How does he get his living? — By teaching.
How did you become acquainted? — By chance.
He learns little by little every day, and improves by degrees.
By Heavens, this is too much.
The schools were closed on the day of the funeral by order of
          the government.
How can you tell an American from an Englishman? — By his accent.
Some passages are beautiful by being sublime, some by being soft,
          others by being natural.
In America fish is sold by the pound, eggs by the dozen, milk
          by the quart, and cloth by the yard.
He drinks beer by the gallon, and consumes eggs by the dozens.
He is my senior by three years.

 

In

There are seven days in a week.
The expenses are included in the sum.
He has in him the makings of a great man.
It is not in mortals to command success.
A thing good in itself may become bad in its use.
Such conduct is not to be excused in a gentleman.
You can not in reason expect more.
He is wrapped up in his studies.
He has invested in railway shares.
The lady was dressed in white.
I have done everything in my power.
Many preach temperance, but few put it in practice.
Japan is the happiest country in the world.
One can not be two places at once.
My brother will teach in my place.
I looked in the direction of the sound.
The Imperial Diet was opened in the 23rd year of Meiji.
I have known many cases in my time.
She was quite a beauty in her day.
He must work hard in his age.
In the beginning, God made the heaven and the earth.
The blossoms will be out in a few days.
Six and forty years was the temple in building.
The works are now in progress.
The country was then in a state of nature.
The men are all in good health.
He is in distressed circumstances.
I went there in hopes of meeting some friends.
In her sorrow for her husband, she cried herself blind.
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not,
                    neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not
          arrayed like one of these.
I have tried several times, but in vain.
I have been walking out in the rain.
People regard the event as a calamity, but I do not look
          upon it in that light.
Wolves hunt in packs.
The letter was written in red ink.
The statue is in bronze, on a granite pedestal.
His success is in some measure owing to the favorable circumstances.
I found a friend in Jesus.
The enemy surpass us in respect of numbers.
The two flowers resemble each other in shape, but not in colour.
The Japanese is inferior to the Russian in physique, but superior in élan.
He has come in quest of work.
In addition to his lectures, he always has some work or other in hand.
The papers have been drawn up in accordance with the regulations.
What did you give him in return for his present.
I have been waiting in reliance on your promise.
He has his students well in hand.
I speak of students in general; I do not allude to any one in particular.
The house is kept in good repair.
He always thinks himself in the right.
I have done everything in my power.
The house was soon in a blaze.
The house was in flames.
She is all in all to him.

 

About, Around, Round

He hangs about taverns all day.
He wandered about the city all day.
There is something about his manner that charms you.
I must be about my father’s business.
What is the talk about?

 

David Harrison Horton is a Beijing-based writer, artist, editor and curator. His book Maze Poems is forthcoming from Arteidiola Press. He edits the poetry zine SAGINAW. The above poems are from a series of single-source centos drawn from Hidesaburo Saito’s Monograph on Prepositions.

Hidesaburo Saito (1866-1929) was a Japanese linguist who did extensive research on the English language. The sentences from these works are taken from the model sentences appearing in his 1310-page tome Saito’s Monograph on Prepositions (Tokyo, The S. E. G. Press, 1932).

Bill Wolak has just published his eighteenth book of poetry entitled All the Wind’s Unfinished Kisses with Ekstasis Editions. His collages and photographs have appeared recently in the 2020 Seattle Erotic Art Festival, the 2020 Dirty Show in Detroit, the 2019 Rochester Erotic Arts Festival, the 2018 Montreal Erotic Art Festival, and Naked in New Hope 2018.