from Douglas Moore’s Art of Quotation
“It is not ‘only’ food, I said heatedly. There’s meaning hidden underneath each dish.”
Month: April 2019
“All men should strive to learn before they die, what they are running from, and to, and why.”
from Douglas Moore’s Art of Quotation
“All men should strive to learn before they die, what they are running from, and to, and why.”
James Thurber, book quote from “Further fables for our time”, 1978
following Li Po’s lead: to those left behind: on this Easter Sunday in Istanbul, 2019
you are all there
in dreams
our youth on display
strength resting still
in these arms
weaker with age
there is music
Mom dancing in apron
as she sings off-key
to Al Martino
my brothers my sister
nieces and nephews
that long extended table
Charlie Aunt Mary
Grandma’s raviolis
filling the plates
seconds thirds
the turkey the broccoli
sausage and peppers
coffee and cake
platters of fruit
peanut shells and walnuts
George playing The Four Seasons
Johnny teasing Robert
Robert sighs dramatically
into his glass of wine
and I laugh
oh I laugh
waking with tears
in my eyes
Easter Sunday
in Istanbul
so very far
so very long
away
that new horizon
rain rain
wash away
the dust from my clothes
the dust clinging still
to my eyes
let me walk clean
toward that new horizon
I see
from To Match the Prince of Lang-yeh’s Poem in the Old Style by Wang Seng-ta
Down the bright lane. no carriage that does not follow the rut;
on the somber road, who but ghosts go there?
Sages, wise men–they too have departed–
Hold life close, have no regret!
translated by Burton Watson
“Rules for Happiness: something to do, someone to love, something to hope for.”
from Douglas Moore’s Art of Quotation
Rules for Happiness: something to do, someone to love, something to hope for.
He Knows Nothing …. ~ George Bernard Shaw
from the blog A Pondering Mind
following lines by T’ao Yüan-ming: early morning in Moda, April 15th, 2019
a flowering tree
outside my window
the sky a hint
of rain to come
the coffee laced
with whiskey
the cat asleep
on my reading chair
laughter still fresh
from the night before
and though this mind
no longer restless
my heart still longs
for those left behind
thousands of miles
decades ago
lifetimes apart
in this fleeting world
“A fascist is one whose lust for money or power is combined with such an intensity of intolerance toward… “
from Douglas Moore’s Art of Quotation
“A fascist is one whose lust for money or power is combined with such an intensity of intolerance toward those of other races, parties, classes, religions, cultures, regions or nations as to make him ruthless in his use of deceit or violence to attain his ends.”
from Substance, Shadow, and Space by T’ao Yüan-ming
Old and young alike die a single death,
wise and foolish are not allotted different fates.
Your daily wine may help you to forget,
but I fear it’s a pasttime that shortens your years.
Doing good, you say, will be your joy?
And who do you think will praise you?
Too much pondering may injure one’s life;
better leave everything to fate.
Go along with the waves in the great process of change,
take no delight in it, have no fear.
When it’s time to fade away, then fade away—
why should you alone be so full of care?
translated by Burton Watson
Leonard Durso 