playing pool
in some local bar
whiskey sips
between shots
neither keeping
the score
the playing
what’s important
not who wins
it always was
that way
40 odd years
sworn brothers
from bell bottoms
to gray hair
if being an outlaw
is living
by one’s own rules
then heaven
was never an option
uncharted territory
is where you both
are headed
with Honky Tonk Heroes
full blast
on the tape player
of that ’66 Mustang
you’re driving
Author: zdunno03
new old acquaintance
New York
he said
and I nodded
yes
then he showed me
a New York State
driver’s license
Babylon
damn
almost neighbors
newfound friend
a small world
after all
Night Chill by Li Shang-yin
Trees surround a wide pool, the moon casts many shadows;
Beyond the wind-blown vine, in the village and on the bank,
the pounding of wash and the sounds of the flute.
In the west pavilion, the kingfisher quilt leaves a fragrance that fades;
All through the night, my sorrow turns toward the wilted lotus.
translated by Eugene Eoyang & Irving Y. Lo
The Ninth by Wei Ying-wu
Suddenly I’m governing Wu Prefecture
and suddenly chrysanthemums are blooming
as I start to think of my garden back home
happily a group of guests arrives
translated by Red Pine
Visiting the Ferry in the Western Suburbs Again by Wei Ying-wu
Where the river winds I reflect on my travels
a traveler lost in reminiscence again
the moon last night was so lovely
I’ve come back to see it in the waves
birds won’t roost where they feel afraid
or a fragrance spread where it’s cold
when will I hold someone’s hand again
the flowers overhead look like sleet
translated by Red Pine
Burial Songs: 2 by T’ao Ch’ıen
I never had wine to drink, and now
my empty cup’s all depths of spring
wine crowned with ant-fluff foam,
but how will I ever taste it again?
Delicacies crowd altars before me,
and at my side, those I love grieve.
I try to look–it’s eyes of darkness.
I try to speak–a mouth of silence.
I once slept beneath high ceilings,
but a waste village of weeds is next:
leaving my gate behind, I’ll set out
and never again find my way back.
translated by David Hinton
This poem is for Natıg Damırov whose brother Orhan died in a car crash 10 days ago in Azerbaijan.
on timing
once
long ago
in a land
much different
than where I am
now
I came to
a realization
timing
it was all about
timing
and as I look
at things
as they stand
now
that thought
resonates
in my head
sometimes
it’s the right time
and other times
it’s not
so here we are
kid
timing
and only time
will tell
which time
it is
Reverence-Pavilion Mountain, Sitting Alone by Li Po (Li Bai)
Birds have vanished into deep skies.
A last cloud drifts away, all idleness.
Inexhaustible, this mountain and I
gaze at each other, it alone remaining.
translated by David Hinton
the surprise conversation: for Kristi
my thoughts
finished
before I think
them
our words
tumble over
each other
in the rush
of familiarity
to say
I know you
an understatement
to say
I’ve found you
a blessing
here
alas adrift
a life jacket
in the immense
sea
from the Analects by Confucius
The Master said, Yu, shall I teach you what knowledge is? When you know a thing, to recognize that you know it, and when you do not know a thing, to recognize that you do not know it. That is knowledge.
translated by Arthur Waley
Leonard Durso 