Willows are green, green and the river water flat.
I hear a man on the river singing me songs
and see sun on my east, rain to my west.
The sun is shying off, but I feel his shine.
translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping
Uncategorized
using a line from Xue Tao: this old heart
there is a memory
that tugs at a feeling
of waves crashing
against rocks
and a remote moon
sending shivers
along my spine
as I watch you turn
suspended in time
just like this old heart
of mine
A Spring in Autumn by Xue Tao
Behind a ribbon of evening mist, a chill sky distills,
and a melody of far waterfalls like ten silk strings
comes to my pillow to tug feelings,
keeping me sleepless in sorrow past midnight.
translated by Tony Barnstone & Chou Ping
from Spring Gazing (Four Poems) Poem 1 by Xue Tao
Flowers blooom but we can’t share them.
Flowers fall and we can’t share our sadness.
If you need to find when I miss you most:
when the flowers bloom and when they fall.
translated by Tony Barnstone & Chou Ping
the sorrow yet to come: for Fred
your death
I discovered
2 years later
how did it happen
we grew so far apart
our lives so intertwined
for decades
then somehow
drifted in different directions
yet parts of you remain
in my memory
like the picture
I found
taken in my home
back then
you looking up
at the camera
your eyes so young
full of hope
and yet
a sadness tugged
at the corners
of your mouth
a picture
dear old friend
of all our hopes
in our youth
and a hint
of the sorrow
yet to come
for Valentine’s Day: Oh green bird by Nizar Kabbani
Oh green bird,
As long as you are my love,
God is in the sky.
translated by Bassam K. Frangieh & Clementina R. Brown
When I am in love by Nizar Kabbani
When I am in love
I become a liquid light
And in my notebook
The poems become
Fields of mimosas and daisies.
translated by Bassam K. Frangieh & Clementina R. Brown
Your eyes are like a rainy night by Nizar Kabbani
Your eyes are like a rainy night,
My boats sink in them,
My writing disappears in their reflection,
Mirrors have no memory.
translated by Bassam K. Frangieh & Clementina R. Brown
Oh traveler by Nizar Kabanı
Oh traveler,
After ten years,
You are still
Like a spearhead in my side.
translated by Bassam K. Frangieh & Clementina R. Brown
The day I met you by Nizar Kabbani
The day I met you
I tore up
All my maps and my prophecies
And became like an Arabian horse.
I smell the scent of your rain
Before it makes me wet,
I hear the rhythm of your voice
Before you speak
I undo your braids
Before you plait them.
translated y Bassam K. Frangieh & Clementina R. Brown
Leonard Durso 