Something in the dark has to become visible.
All those things that do become visible
Are what people call the stars.
translated by Fang Dai, Dennis Ding, & Edward Morin
Month: April 2014
life you say
just when you thought
you had it all
figured out
everything changes
life
you say
can’t be anything
else
feline love
the cat
crawls
onto my arm
pinning me down
with his love
Two-Masted Ship by Shu Ting
Fog moistens both wings
But the wind allows no dallying
O shore, beloved shore
We parted just yesterday
And you are here again today
Tomorrow at a different latitude
We shall meet along my course
Remember the storm, the lighthouse
That brought us together
Another storm, a different light
Drove us asunder again
Even though morning or evening
Sky and ocean stand between us
You are always on my voyage
I am always in your sight
translated by Fang Dai, Dennis Ding, & Edward Morin
night
night
falls
regardless of how
we think
about it
Civilization by Yüan Chieh
To the south-east–three thousand leagues–
The Yüan and Hsiang form into a mighty lake.
Above the lake are deep mountain valleys,
And men dwelling whose hearts are without guile.
Gay like children, they swarm to the tops of trees;
And run to the water to catch bream and trout.
Their pleasures are the same as those beasts and birds;
They put no restraint either on body or mind.
Far I have wandered throughout the Nine Lands;
Wherever I went such manners had disappeared.
I find myself standing and wondering, perplexed,
Whether Saints and Sages have really done us good.
translated by Arthur Waley
On the Lake by Hsu Yuan-chien
Orioles chatter madly in trees of red blossoms
egrets converge on a lake of tall grass
everyone loves a clear mild day
boats return at dusk on waves of flutes and drums
translated by Red Pine
Replying to a Poem by Prime Minister Lu of Chinling by Tu Shen-yen
Only an impotent official
is truly surprised when things become new
red clouds giving birth to the ocean dawn
plums and willows ferrying spring across the river
clear skies inciting yellow birds
sunshine turning duckweed green
suddenly hearing a familiar tune
I think of home and dry my eyes
translated by Red Pine
On Yellow Crane Tower Hearing a Flute by Li Pai
Suddenly an exile on the way to Changsha
looking back toward Ch’ang-an I don’t see a soul
from Yellow Crane Tower I hear a jade flute
plum blossoms fall in this city in June
translated by Red Pine
Delayed on the Szechuan Road by Chang Yueh
A traveler races the sun and moon
coming and going according to plan
but autumn wind doesn’t wait
it reaches Loyang before me
translated by Red Pine
Leonard Durso 