dust on the heart
can be blown away
by kindness
reciprocated
by the warmth
in a smile
by the hand
of a friend
by darkness
dissolving
into day
friendship
all I was offering
accused
of so much
unintended
when all
I was offering
was friendship
an Aztec poem I have always liked
Like a quetzal plume, a fragrant flower,
friendship sparkles:
like heron plumes, it weaves itself into finery.
Our song is a bird calling out like a jingle:
how beautiful you make it sound!
Here, among flowers that enclose us,
among flowery boughs you are singing.
translated from the Aztec into Spanish by Angel Garibay
translated from the Spanish into English by John Bierhorst
in dreams: for Steve
what are you trying
to tell me
old friend
three nights now
in dreams
how difficult
for you to cross
the ocean
the sea
with eyes
long dead
to guide you
and a heart
so heavy
to bear
on being home: for Ali
Ali calls
I see erguvan
our special flower
only here
in Istanbul
suddenly now
I am home
we are home
Lenny
it is so beautiful
and I tell Burhan
your uncle is home
he smiles
as we drive
from apartment
to apartment
until I too see
erguvan
and I too
am home
a Sunday in Izmir: for İbrahim Kadıoğlu
walking
with a friend
along
the coastline
sun sea wind
and breakfast
a perfect day
sunday morning
traditional breakfast
wet morning
friends talking
facing goodbye
afternoon: for Ali
tea glasses empty
talk full
afternoon passes
friend
Swallow Falls by Ou-yang Hsiu
Swallows return here
to cold heights to dart through flying waters.
My friends gone, my heart sees them:
a flash of pure brilliance, glistening, long.
translated by J.P. Seaton
Feet Stuck Out, Singing Wildly by Su Tung-p’o
Feet stuck out, singing wildly, I beat an old clay tub;
singeing fur, roasting meats, like a northwest nomad.
Outriders shout through the market–you’ve come to fetch me;
on Fishing Point, sand is swept, wine jars set out.
Boys from the foothills crowd to watch us dance;
white bones by the river remember your kindness.
One cloud, a slanting sun–I gaze southwest
and envy crows that know the way back home.
POET’S NOTE TO THE POEM: Governor Chan came to visit me, bringing wine. Using a previous rhyme of mine, he composed a poem, and I responded with another poem in the same rhyme.
translated by Burton Watson
Leonard Durso 