The earlier boat is already faint
I was hoping to cross but it wouldn’t wait
from autumn hills comes the evening bell
it’s raining in Ch’u all the way to the sea
the windblown waves recall our parting
the way I once looked has changed
a lone bird heading southeast
asks the way to Kuangling
translated by Red Pine
Uncategorized
4am in Moda: what lingers still: for JEP
here, old friend
5000 miles and more away
you appear still
scotch whiskey
in a glass
ice cubes
bumping shoulders
your deadpan delivery
pinball and burritos at 3am
in bars 3000 miles apart
those Texans you antagonized
mercilessly
tears amid the laughter
the mischief in your eyes
this is what
lingers still
your ghost refusing
to fade into the darkness
one more shot
for to you
to comfort us
both
and to keep the wolves
at bay
while you wait
patiently
for me
to join you
in that honky-tonk bar
in the sky
Entertaining Adjutant Li by Wei Ying-wu
When we were fifteen we both served at court
we climbed the red steps through incense at dawn
we toured the Han Garden in bloom
and bathed on Lishan in the snow
but the Immortal has flown and isn’t expected back
his advisors are scattered assuming they’re alive
meeting you today thinking about the past
one cup makes me happy the next one sad
translated by Red Pine
the two dollars
not worth trying
to salvage
what is lost
pay the two dollars
and move on
Language by Nizar Qabbani
When a man is in love
how can he use old words?
Should a woman
desiring her lover
lie down with
grammarians and linguists?
I said nothing
to the woman I loved
but gathered
love’s adjectives into a suitcase
and fled from all languages.
translated by Lena Jayyusi & Diana Der Hovanessian
Foolishness by Nizar Qabbani
When I wiped you from
the book of memory
I did not know I was striking
out half my life
translated by Lena Jayyusi & Diana Der Hovanessian
Keep The Change by Cemal Süreya
I am dying dear God
This too happened.
Every death is an early death
I know dear God.
But yet, this life you take
Is not so bad . . .
Keep the change . . .
translated by Omer Kursat
uncertain heart
youth slips away
and with it
the sureness of mind
now as winter settles
and steps falter
one is left
stumbling along
with an uncertain heart
Early Autumn by Po Chü-i
Two grey hairs appear in the lit mirror,
a single leaf tumbling into the courtyard.
Old age slips away, nothing to do with me,
and when grief comes, who does it find?
Idle months and years emptying away,
loved ones from long ago lost to sight.
I’ll play with my girl here, my little girl:
we keep coaxing smiles from each other.
translated by David Hinton
After Lunch by Po Chü-i
After eating lunch, I feel so sleepy.
Waking later, I sip two bowls of rice,
then notice shadows aslant, the sun
already low in the southwest again.
Joyful people resent fleeting days.
Sad ones can’t bear the slow years.
It’s those with no joy and no sorrow—
they trust whatever this life brings.
translated by David Hinton
Leonard Durso 