try to stay awake
that’s the plan anyway
and so there is movement
drinks in a bar
dinner in a dimly lit place
conversation vague enough
to be mildly interesting
but not revealing
the face attractive
the body appealing
there is a warmth here
that could soothe an aching heart
this is keeping the ghosts at bay
and the present present
in a life in a holding pattern
waiting for that special someone
who may never appear
to talk of books and poetry
theatre and film
of living a life of meaning
beyond the balance sheet
of things that really matter
not safe but dangerously alive
instead of just killing time
trying to find a way
to coast home
Author: zdunno03
On The Tung-ting Lake II by Li Po (Li Bei)
The autumn night is vaporless on the lake.
The swelling tide could bear us on to the sky.
Come, let us take the moonlight for our guide,
We’ll sail away and drink where the white clouds are!
translated by Shigeyoshi Obata
The Ching-ting Mountain by Li Po (Li Bai)
Flocks of birds have flown high and away;
A solitary drift of cloud, too, has gone, wandering on.
And I sit alone with the Ching-ting Peak, towering beyond.
We never grow tired of each other, the mountain and I.
translated by Shigeyoshi Obata
In The Mountains by Li Po (Li Bai)
Why do I live among the green mountains?
I laugh and answer not, my soul is serene;
It dwells in another heaven and earth belonging to no man.
The peach trees are in flower, and the water flows on. . .
translated by Shigeyoshi Obata
life, again
when all else fails
there’s always life
coming along to surprise you
it could be some gesture
a spoken word, or two
perhaps the touch of a friend
or someone not so friendly
a flood in the neighborhood
power shortages
a voice from the heavens
or someplace farther south
or maybe someone seen
in a different light
you know, something you didn’t expect
good or bad or indifferent
but you’re stopped short
breath held
there on the precipice
whatever balance you thought you achieved
is now called into question
go or stay
throw all caution to the proverbial winds
this business called life
suddenly changes
and whatever rules applied before
no longer matter
it is a new day
or maybe evening
and all you have are what’s left of your wits
so saddle up, partner
whatever it is
it’s begun
from What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver
“I could hear my heart beating. I could hear everyone’s heart beating. I could hear the human noise we sat there making, not one of us moving, not even when the room went dark.”
looking for clues: a tanka
scanning is looking
for clues as to what’s hidden
but more than a scan
is needed to probe the depths
of what lies inside a heart
Raymond Carver on writing
“That’s all we have, finally, the words, and they had better be the right ones.”
from The Hard Road by Li Po (Li Bai)
Journeying is hard,
Journeying is hard.
There are many turnings–
Which am I to follow?. . .
I will mount a long wind some day and break the heavy waves
And set my cloudy sail straight and bridge the deep, deep sea.
translated by Witter Bynner & Kiang Kang-hu
hard choices: a tanka
there are decisions
hard as they may seem to be
one finally makes
and we live with what follows
try as best to carry on
Leonard Durso 