she said
I get lost
in love
and I said
I get found
a difference
in expectations
and definitions
in a language
we both
are trying
to learn
Month: March 2018
long gone
my eyes
grow heavy
remembering
the words
the faces
long gone
from view
“next time someone complains that you have made a mistake, tell him… without imperfection, neither you nor I would exist“
from Douglas Moore’s Art of Quotation
“So next time someone complains that you have made a mistake, tell him that may be a good thing. Because without imperfection, neither you nor I would exist”
Stephen Hawking, physicist
taking the lead from Ch’i-chi
this road
these feet
that direction
from After the Rebellion, Visiting West Mountain Temple by Ch’i-chi
I for one have no plans to abandon the road I’m on.
translated by Burton Watson
“The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.”
another from Douglas Moore’s Art of Quotation
“The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.”
Andy Rooney, writer
Late in the Day, Gazing Out from a River Pavilion by Chia Tao
Water to the horizon
veils the base of clouds;
mountain mist
blurs the far village.
Returning to nest, birds
make tracks in the sand;
passing on the river, a boat
leaves no trace on the waves.
I gaze at the water
and know its gentle nature;
watch the mountains
until my spirit tires.
Though not yet ready
to leave off musing,
dusk falls,
and I return by horse.
translated by Mike O’Connor
Autumn Evening: To Send to My Nieces and Nephews by Ch’i-chi
Each year, come the late autumn evenings,
I sit by the lamp recalling my old home,
gardens and groves red with oranges and pomelos,
windows and doors blue with Hsiao and Hsiang waters.
But since I left you old age has come on,
I quail at the long road that parts us.
Brothers young and old, just so you’re well,
tending fields and silkworms amid these fires of war!
translated by Burton Watson
from Thinking of a Monk of Flower Summit on Mount T’ien-t’ai by Ch’i-chi
I wish I could go again, make the Wise One my teacher,
but my head is white and the road so very long.
translated by Burton Watson
“[poetry] a momentary stay against confusion”
from Douglas Moore’s Art of Quotation
Leonard Durso 