I sit
as is my habit
on the balcony
at night
and wonder
about the people
in the homes
across the way
what do they think about
hearing the cat cry
in the courtyard
its voice so much
like a child’s
do they think
of the children
of the women
crying in the rubble
not so very far away
in Gaza
and feel as helpless
as I feel
who can’t even help
a cat crying
in the night
Month: February 2024
Song of the Spring Wind by Ch’i-chi
What does the spring wind have in mind,
coming day and night to these groves and gardens?
It never asks who owns the peach and damson trees
but blows away their crimson without a word.
translated by Burton Watson
Admonishing a Younger Teacher by Ch’i-chi
You decline to write poetry, won’t listen to sutras,
too lazy to visit the other peaks of Ch’an—
when at last your head is white and they question you,
what stories will you have to tell your students?
translated by Burton Watson
3:09 am in Moda
the air cool
this night
on my balcony
and though there are no stars
in this city sky
my eyes find comfort
in the darkness
Aubade by Amy Lowell
As I would free the white almond from the green husk
So would I strip your trappings off,
Beloved.
And fingering the smooth and polished kernel
I should see that in my hands glittered a gem beyond counting.
Afterglow by Amy Lowell
Peonies
The strange pink colour of Chinese porcelains;
Wonderful—the glow of them.
But, my Dear, it is the pale blue larkspur
Which swings windily against my heart.
Other summers—
And a cricket chirping in the grass.
last night: for JEP
last night you came
again complaining
of the journey
across limitless sky
riding a cloud
like some ancient hero
you always wanted
to be
can’t you find
someone there
to talk to
you ask
some weariness
I notice
in your voice
not like you
I say in reply
not like you
and then there is
your famous twinkle
in your eyes
and the room
grows bright
with remembering
On the Death of the Emperor Temmu by Empress Jitö
Over North Mountain
dark clouds rise.
The stars go,
then the moon goes.
translated by Kenneth Rexroth & Ikuko Atsumi
poem by Empress Jitö
The stars pass.
The moon passes.
Blue clouds pass above the mountains to the north.
The years go by.
translated by Kenneth Rexroth & Ikuko Atsumi
poem by Yasano Akiko
It is because you always hope, my heart,
that I always light a lamp
in the orange twilight.
translated by Kenneth Rexroth & Ikuko Atsumi
Leonard Durso 