One never knows what images one is going to hold in memory, returning to the city after a brief orgy in the country. I find this morning that what I most vividly and longingly recall is the sight of my grandson and his little sunburnt sister returning to their kitchen door from an excursion, with trophies of the meadow clutched in their tiny hands–she with a couple of violets, and smiling, he serious and holding dandelions, strangling them in a responsible grip. Children hold spring so tightly in their brown fists–just as grownups, who are less sure of it, hold it in their hearts.
Author: zdunno03
from a line by Wang Wan: the year ages
time moves on
one can’t resist it
muscles no longer as strong
as in my youth
the joints creak
less hair to blow
in that restless wind
the year ages
as do I
thankful still
for another day
a month a year
the gift of living
so grateful to accept
this day
again
To See A Friend Off by Wang Wei
Dismount and drink this wine.
Where to? I ask.
At odds with the world:
Return to rest by the South Hill.
Go. Go. Do not ask again.
Endless, the white clouds.
translated by Wai-lim Yip
a bed number
the heart slows
as he lies there
tended by doctors nurses
that only know him
as a bed number
on a chart
not a name
and when he goes
to that place
we all must go eventually
he goes unloved
unwanted
leaving behind a body
to be disposed of
by the hospital staff
from Four “Tzu-yeh” songs: Song 4
Long night: unable to sleep
The moon, how beautifully bright.
Calling, someone seems calling.
Into the empty air, I answer “Yes?”
translated by Wai-lim Yip
with a nod to David Wiffen via Tom Rush along Route 66 of my mind
lost somewhere
in a desert landscape
this old car
of mine
lost its drivin’ wheel
and I’ll be late
for supper
by two days
or more
once again
A Homecoming by Wendell Berry
One faith is bondage. Two
are free. In the trust
of old love, cultivation shows
a dark graceful wilderness
at its heart. Wild
in that wilderness, we roam
the distances of our faith,
safe beyond the bounds
of what we know. O love,
open. Show me
my country. Take me home.
