another of Mary Tang’s translations from the Chinese on her blog Life is But This
Month: April 2017
my hope for these children: on Children’s Day here in Turkey, for children in the world
they look with eyes
that see beyond my vision
with hearts more open
with purpose more true
without the doubts
to weigh upon them
without the sorrow
heavy on their shoulders
without remorse
in their very bones
this is my hope
for these children
of the future
embracing a world
cleaner, brighter
elusive to me
4am in Maltepe
a lone rooster
his solitary voice crowing
for those of us awake
in pre-dawn hours
to heed
our hopes our fears
on alert
in the darkness
of this world
Two Places by Han Wo (translation)
another translation from the Chinese by Mary Tang on her blog Life is But This
the other side of memory
there you are
on the other side
of memory
with the dead
and misplaced
mixing lines from Wang Shih-chen and Chiang Ch’un-lin
standing at the edge
of the world
sending my heart
all the way
back
to where it belongs
To the Crane by Bai Ju Yi (translation)
another translation from the Chinese by Mary Tang on her blog Life is But This
Easter Sunday, 2017
there’s haze
on the islands
beyond my reach
but the sun high
in the sky
warms the world
my third cup
of coffee
laced with Baileys
warms me
and here
in a country
voting on its future
today
I watch the gulls
sail by
and think of loved ones
far away
in miles in time
while waiting
for my phoenix
to rise
Autumn Day by Lu You (translation)
another translation of the Sung Dynasty poet Lu You by Mary Tang on her blog Life is But This
it is written
to understand the future
look to the past
it is written there
as it was is
as it shall be
Leonard Durso 