And what if after so much history, we succumb,
not to eternity,
but to those simple things, like being
at home, or starting to brood!
What if we discover later
all of a sudden, that we are living
to judge by the height of the stars
off a comb and off stains on a handkerchief!
It would be better, really,
if it were all swallowed up, right now!
They’ll say we have a lot
of grief in one eye, and a lot of grief
in the other also, and when they look
a lot of grief in both . . .
So then! . . . Naturally! . . . So! . . . Don’t say a word!
translated by Robert Bly
from I Have Plenty of Heart by Miguel Hernandez
Yesterday, tomorrow, today
suffering for everything,
my heart is a sad goldfish bowl,
a pen of dying nightingales.
I have plenty of heart.
Today I rip out my heart,
I who have a bigger heart than anyone
and having that, I am the bitterest also.
I don’t know why, I don’t know how or why
I let my life keep on going every day.
translated by Robert Bly
Crane on a Pine Crying to Heaven by Sung Po-jen
waking from a Red Cliff dream
black robe soaked with rain
trying to reach Heaven’s ear
it stands atop a pine
translated by Red Pine
Wheeling Hawk by Sung Po-jen
a bird of prey forgets its kind
it wheels and grabs a pigeon
feathered creatures share the sky
why this effort to oppress the weak
translated by Red Pine
something stirs
a name
on the tip
of my tongue
I cannot dislodge
but the face
so clearly
in focus
as something
stirs like emotion
causing tears
to wet my beard
Beside Mirror Terrace on Yellow Mountain River by Ch’oe Ch’iwon
The river winds through mist shrouded peaks,
houses and mountains face to face in the water.
A solitary boat takes the full breeze, whither is it bound?
Look! A bird flies off and vanishes without a trace.
translated by Kevin O’Rourke
from Song of a Madman by Yi Saek
When I have money, I buy wine. No need for second thoughts.
When I have wine, I want flowers. Why hesitate?
I look at the flowers, drink the wine, let my white hair stream free;
I climb East Mountain, enjoy the moon and the breeze.
translated by Kevin O’Rourke
Song of Night on a Boat by Pak Illyang
The ancient land of Koryo is far away;
autumn breezes blow; confusion fills the wayfarer’s heart.
A night’s dream on a lonely boat
spread in waves across the moonlit waters of Dongting Lake.
translated by Kevin O’Rourke
from Three Laments: I by Diane DiPrima
Alas
I believe
I might have become
a great writer
but
the chairs
in the library
were too hard
Song For Baby-O, Unborn by Diane DiPrima
Sweetheart
when you break thru
you’ll find
a poet here
not quite what one would choose.
I won’t promise
you’ll never go hungry
or that you won’t be sad
on this gutted
breaking
globe
but I can show you
baby
enough to love
to break your heart
forever
Leonard Durso 