It is fixed now and all thanks to the very professional help of the Support Team at wordpress. Their rep, Daniel by name, solved it in less than 2 minutes. My hat, if I was wearing one, would be off to him and them, but since I am not wearing one, I just want to make this very public acknowledgement of their help. Thank you.
Uncategorized
Self-Portrait in Praise by Wang An-shih
Things aren’t other than they are.
I am today whoever I was long ago,
and if I can be described, it’s as this
perfect likeness of all these things.
translated by David Hinton
to all the bloggers I follow
First, I wish you all a productive New Year filled with poetry, song, and visual art to stir your hearts and souls.
And second, you might find me hitting the follow button on your blog again since I have lost all posts from wordpress in my email account. I tend to read the posts mostly from my email and don’t always use the Reader because it is so unpredictable. Unfortunately, all I am getting in my yahoo account are “likes” or comments so I will start with those to follow but will eventually go through my list of blogs I follow to do it all over again. So don’t be confused thinking I am new to your blog. It’s just me reestablishing the link to my email account wherever possible.
Again, have a great holiday.
Len
Full Moon Poetry Party — #FullMoonSocial2014
They Fought South of the Walls by an anonymous Chinese poet 3rd Century B.C.
They fought south of the walls
They died north of the ramparts.
Lying dead in the open, they won’t be buried,
the crows may eat them.
Tell the crows for me:
Please enjoy a sumptuous meal!
Lying dead in the open, they surely won’t be buried.
How can their rotting flesh get away from you!
The water runs deep and clear,
The rushes and reeds are dark.
The brave war steeds have died in battle,
The worthless nags neigh, running hither and thither.
The bridges have be made into buildings,
How can one go south?
How can one go north?
The grain is not harvested, how shall our lord eat?
And we who want to be loyal vassals, how can we succeed?
I think of you, fine vassals.
Fine vassals, indeed one should think of you.
In the morning you went out to attack,
In the evening you didn’t come back for the night.
translated by Hans H. Frankel
from The Book of Songs: How Few of Us Are Left
How few of us are left, how few!
Why do we not go back?
Were it not for our prince and his concerns,
What should we be doing here in the dew?
How few of us are left, how few!
Why do we not go back?
Were it not for our prince’s own concerns,
What should we be doing here in the mud?
translated by Arthur Waley
replay
back in the sixties
and my Honda
this red scooter
transported me
zipping along
wind in the hair
though no longer shoulder length
the feeling the same
a kid again
the winds
they say
it’s not normal
the winds here
in Izmir
this time of year
but they blow
trees bend sway
branches shiver
apples fall to the ground
outside
and I find
a heaviness I felt
before
being blown away
on the wind
over the hills
to the sea
beyond
The Mermaid by Orhan Veli Kanik
She must just have left the sea.
Her hair and lips
Smelled of the sea till the morning.
Her rising and falling breast was like the sea.
I knew she was poor–
But you can’t talk of poverty all the time.
Gently, next to my ear
She sang songs of love.
Who knows what she has learned and experienced
In her life fighting the sea.
Patching fish nets, casting fish nets, gathering fish nets.
Making tackles, dropping out baits cleaning boats.
To remind me of spiny fish
Her hands touched my hands.
That night I saw, I saw it in her eyes;
How lovely the sea has risen in the open sea.
Her hair taught me about waves;
I tossed and tossed around dreams.
translated by Murat Nemet-Nejat
A Glittering Poem by Orhan Veli Kanik
I woke up one morning;
The sun came up to me;
I turned into birds and leaves;
They glittered in the spring breeze;
I turned into birds and leaves;
My arms and legs were rotting;
I turned into birds and leaves,
Birds
And leaves.
translated by Murat Nemet-Nejat
Leonard Durso 