Sleeping in spring oblivious of dawn
everywhere I hear birds
after the wind and rain last night
I wonder how many petals fell
translated by Red Pine
Author: zdunno03
Awakening by Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar
And now life’s desolate twilight hour starts
Beyond distant cypresses daylight departs.
The garden of spring don the brightest sun,
The river’s voice rises and then is gone.
The nightingale sings of love’s sorrows
While rings of fire burn the rims of the rose.
translated by Talat S. Halman
where something is
not knowing where
something is
shouldn’t keep one
from looking
for it
Dawn Over The Mountains by Tu Fu
The city is silent,
Sound drains away,
Buildings vanish in the light of dawn,
Cold sunlight comes on the highest peak,
The thick dust of night
Clings to the hills,
The earth opens,
The river boats are vague,
The sky still–
The sound of falling leaves.
A huge doe comes to the garden gate,
Lost from the herd,
Seeking its fellows.
translated by Kenneth Rexroth
Poem Composed on Horseback and Sent to Tzu-you after Parting at the West Gate of Chengchou on the Nineteenth Day of the Eleventh Month by Su Tung-p’o
Why do I feel drunk without drinking
my heart is following your saddle horse
your thoughts are already with our father
but how shall I deal with this loneliness of mine
climbing above the ramparts between us
all I see is your bobbing black hat
the weather is so cold and your robe so thin
and you’re riding that nag beneath a waning moon
“On the road people sing at home they’re happy”
offered my attendant seeing me so sad
of course I know life is full of partings
what bothers me is how fast it’s passing
remember when we faced that sputtering lamp
listening to the wind that rain-filled night
that is something I know you won’t forget
don’t fall in love with a government career
translated by Red Pine
reading the news
it’s hard
reading the news
the face
of some politicians
makes me nauseous
in my head
unspoken conversations
I dream
of unspoken conversations
all I wanted
to tell you
those many times
we talked
would you have listened
without turning away
would these dreams
of conversations
mattered
in the light
of day
from Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
“Look beneath the surface: never let a thing’s intrinsic quality or worth escape you.”
what draws us near
we cannot always
escape
that which draws
us near
Seeing Off a Friend by Hsueh T’ao
There’s frost on the reeds tonight in this riverine world
the mountains look dreary in the cold moonlight
who says the miles between us begin this very night
my goodbye dream goes with you beyond the farthest passes
translated by Red Pine
Leonard Durso 