they always smile
when I buy a ticket
to a show there
last time Hamlet
today ballet
figuring this
couldn’t be in Turkish
dance is
after all
a language of its own
so is a smile
to brighten this day
on a non-Thanksgiving
in Istanbul
other writing
from a line by Tu Shen-yen: ancient songs
they float in the air
those tunes
those lyrics
transporting me
five thousand miles
five six decades
there in ancient songs
lie thoughts
of home
on reading Su Tung-p’o: my remaining years
on land on sea
wherever I wander
these ghosts
who accompany me
smile benignly
at these
my remaining years
what joy
oh what joy
an extra piece
of chocolate cake
a child’s smile
laughter
in the morning
in Moda: November 16, 2019
the smell of roasting chestnuts
light fading into dusk
a dog barks
a cat lies serenely
on top of a car
and these old legs
climb the hill
toward home
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
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
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
life here, a thousand years from Li Ch’ing-chao’s end of spring
winter approaches
and the feral cats
squabble over the carrier
left out for shelter
from the storms
and my cat
knows no sympathy
as he listens
comfortably reclining
on the bed
mist of time
there is laughter
children’s voices
rise and fall
in the morning mist
my mind drifts
hearing other voices
in the mist
of time
so long ago
Leonard Durso 