Month: March 2015

for the FULL MOON SOCIAL: let the winds blow

/ zdunno03 / 8 Comments

the air tonight
is chilly
returning home
from a night out
I stand hunched
on the front balcony
looking up
to the moon
a glass
in hand
to warm
this bruised soul
my thoughts drift
to another city
another person
standing under
this full moon
my glass is raised
my heart full
and the moon
looks down
approving
a humble gesture
let the winds
blow across
space and time
to brush the cheek
of an absent friend

This is for the FULL MOON SOCIAL hosted by Jeff Schwaner at Translations from the English.
Check out his site and come in or out to the moon above.

Sick Cicada by Chia Tao

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A sick cicada, unable now to fly,
Walks over onto my palm.
Its broken wing can still grow thinner.
And its bitter songs are clear as ever.
Dewdrops stick on its belly,
Dust specks fallen by mischance in its eyes.
The oriole and the kite as well
Both harbor the thought of your ruin.

translated by Stephen Owen

Evening View as the Snow Clears by Chia Tao

/ zdunno03 / 4 Comments

I lean on my staff, gaze at the sunlit snow,
Clouds and gullies in countless layers.
The woodcutter returns to his plain hut,
As the winter sun falls behind sheer peaks.
A wildfire burns over the grass of the hills;
Broken patches of mist rise from among the rocks and pines.
Then, turning back on the mountain temple road,
I hear the bells ring in the evening sky.

translated by Stephen Owen

To the Waters of the Chia-ling, Two poems by Yuan Zhen

/ zdunno03 / 9 Comments

1

Long ago you were perhaps
a river flowing down a mountain!
Since then you’ve been flowing,
deepening your bed;
If I could make a river current
understand human feeling,
Then you might know my mind
on coming from so far.

2

You, water with no feeling,
Have you regrets as you flow east?
In my heart are things I cannot express,
Does that make me different from you?

translated by William H. Nienhauser

#fullmoonsocial, anyone? Thursday March 5, 2015

/ zdunno03 / 7 Comments

Join in if you so desire to Jeff Schwaner’s second Full Moon Social.

Jeff Schwaner's avatarTranslations from the English

Last full moon of winter will find us later this week. Anyone up for another communal poetry writing and sharing party on this upcoming full moon?  If you are, just use the tag “fullmoonsocial” on your WordPress blog post or #fullmoonsocial if you’re tweeting your poem.

I’ve got the moon hitting full at 1:05 pm EST. At that point, until it sets wherever you happen to be, consider the party to be started. I’ll be following the tags and posting links to your poems as I see them. As with our inaugural full moon social, if you’re interested in having your poem (or photo or artwork, whatever you post!) included in a free epub anthology that I’ll put together shortly after the party, let me know in an email to jeffrey.schwaner@gmail.com. If you’re contributing, all rights are retained by you. The moon doesn’t take your rights.

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