This world will drive you mad;
This night, these stars, this scent,
This tree in blossom from tip to root.
translated by George Messo
Month: November 2018
“Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: it must be…”
from Douglas Moore’s Art of Quotation
“Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: it must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all”
William Faulkner, writer
I see no reason not to repost my Thanksgiving poem yet again: for my brothers: Johnny, George, & Robert, and for Rita all on the other side of the world
there are voices calling my name
on the other side of the world
an empty chair
a glass not filled with wine
dark meat with gravy
stuffing with mushrooms
manicotti
and Robert’s famous meatballs and gravy
hot and sweet sausage
broccoli with garlic, lemon and oil
Johnny bought blueberry pie
only I’m not getting a piece
’cause I’m over here
on the other side of the world
quietly finishing a bottle of wine
trying not to think of your voice
the sorrow in the air
fresh flowers don’t quite kill the smell
of disappointment
regret
another year gone by
that empty chair
that bottle of wine unopened
ice cream melting on a plate
Al Martino singing love songs
George serving salad
and you sliding food onto my plate
the cat under the table
my hand reaching across
space
grabbing nothing
grabbing air
on the other side
of the world
peanut butter & jelly
how easy it is
for a peanut butter
& jelly sandwich
to transport one
back to a time
when the world was young
and innocent
if only for that brief moment
of pleasure
while eating
from Strolling Along the Riverbank, Looking for Flowers: Seven Quatrains: One Section by Tu Fu
Masses of flowers and plants envelop the riverbanks;
Walking there, unsteady in my steps, I’m really afraid of spring.
My verses and my wine I can still manage:
There’s no need yet to look after this white-haired one.
translated by Irving Y. Lo
3am in the morning
the distance perhaps
in miles in years
cause these memories
both real and imagined
to co-mingle
restlessly
in the mind
yet the cat
gently calmly anchoring
an arm a heart
in the present
in this ancient city
both now call
home
Joyful Spirit
from the blog A Pondering Mind.
from Farm Routine by Ch’u Kuang-hsi
My family greet me with mocking smiles;
But never would I have changed my mind.
translated by Joseph J. Lee
“The ideal of calm exists in a sitting cat.”
from Douglas Moore’s Art of Quotation
“There are always flowers for those who want to see them.” ~ Henri Matisse
from the blog A Pondering Mind
Leonard Durso 