friendship

fresh figs: for Ali

/ zdunno03 / 5 Comments

we scamper
among the trees
Ali and me
two kids
in a farmer’s field
plucking figs
from trees
and giggling
as we split them open
to taste
their sweetness
guilty pleasure
a break from work
washing our hands
in the sprinklers
before climbing back
in a waiting car
to return
to the business
at hand

listening to Miles

/ zdunno03 / 19 Comments

the wind blows
outside
Miles’ trumpet blows
inside
and I am back
in Frank’s
with Alvin and Henry
drinking after hours
the bar’s doors locked
and we regular patrons
on weekend nights
sit sipping our drinks
inside
and it’s there
Miles on the tape deck
Alvin does some scat singing
Henry’s babyface smile
and there at 18
I think I own the world
or at least
this small part of it
in The Village
at 3am
with my friends
scotch on the rocks
poetry in our hearts
and the night
will never end
at least not until
morning
which always comes
much too soon
much too often
then
and now
in a world that’s changed
and hasn’t changed
and Miles’ trumpet
haunts now
more than before
or maybe my ears
listen better
to wind
to trumpet
to the world
changing me

empty heart

/ zdunno03 / 14 Comments

as I lie face up
on the hospital bed
waiting for 5 stitches
in my hard Calabrese head
Ali says
your ekg was good
your heart is better
than a young person’s
and Adnan nods
his blood pressure too
it’s because you have
an empty heart
Ali says
empty I ask
no woman he says
no woman no pain
Adnan smiles
a little laugh
some sad recognition
of a truth
they both share
and I think
maybe it’s time
to fill it
here in a city
among true friends
for even some pain
is better
than lying empty
and unused

Seeing Off Magistrate Han of Loyang on His Trip East by Wei Ying-wu

/ zdunno03 / 4 Comments

This bird of the immortals born for the wind
with turquoise lapels and robe of green
regards my feathers as peculiar
as I twitter away thinking I can sing
we flew back and forth across Loyang
amusing ourselves along crystal streams
friendship with the gods wasn’t meant to be
but happiness filled our hearts
now you’re leaving on a distant mission
on a long dark road through the clouds
but we can still drink and enjoy this day
and sleep tonight among different trees
I’ve paid for lodging east of the city
and spread out a feast in the shade of the wall
as I lift this wine and wish you well
the sadness I feel makes it seem heavy

translated by Red Pine

The Song of a Dream from the Aztec

/ zdunno03 / Leave a comment

Now, my friends, please hear:
it is the song of a dream:
each spring the gold young corn
gives us life;
the ripened corn gives us refreshment;
to know that the hearts of our friends
are true is to put around us
a necklace of precious stones.

translated by Angel Garibay & John Bierhorst

on humor: for Little Chuck

/ zdunno03 / 3 Comments

there was this woman
who lived in Big Chuck’s building
and had an interest in him
even though he was not interested in her
in that way
but enjoyed her company
and that of her mother, too
anyway
Big Chuck reads a lot
sometimes 2 or 3 books at once
and this woman to impress him
I think
told him how much she loved
The DaVinci Code
which she had read like
a hundred times
when Big Chuck told this
to Little Chuck
at the donut shop
late one night
Little Chuck said
Ah, lover of book
or the time
Big Chuck took Little Chuck
to a party
and Big Chuck was charming
a rather attractive Russian woman
and Little Chuck
upon discovering she was from Russia
asked how the squirrel and the moose were doing
a reference to a cartoon show
totally lost on the lady
and she became totally lost
to Big Chuck
as a result
and finally
when Little Chuck learned
that my house in NY
was next to the train tracks
he became obsessed about my safety
imagining trains flying off the tracks
and crashing into my house
and began sending me notices
of train derailments
and a gift of a blinking RR light
to warn me of any danger
coming my way
though the only real danger
is losing the friendship
to the distance
between us now
these thousands of miles away