The first week of October.
PROMPT: Ideal Week
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Author Archives: B Gourley
DAILY PHOTO: Chicago River from North Wabash Bridge
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The Lily [Haiku]
a single lily
stands out in a pond of pads:
bright to browned.
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Asunder [Haiku]
sprawling tree,
laid asunder by its own weight:
a crack plus time
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“There’s a certain Slant of light” (320) by Emily Dickinson [w/ Audio]
There's a certain slant of light,
Winter Afternoons --
That oppresses, like the Heft
Of Cathedral Tunes --
Heavenly Hurt, it gives us --
We can find no scar,
But internal difference --
Where the Meanings, are --
Non may teach it -- Any --
'Tis the seal Despair --
An imperial affliction
Sent us of the Air --
When it comes, the Landscape listens --
Shadows -- hold their breath --
When it goes, 'tis like the Distance
On the look of Death --
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PROMPT: Athletes
I generally leave admiration for professional athletes to others, as I feel — like other entertainment celebrities — they get an unhealthy level of adoration as it is.
That said, I have been impressed by grappler Mikey Musumeci for the intensity of his training regime and for finding his own way.
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Longanimity [Haiku]
DAILY PHOTO: A Few Views of Stone Mountain Lake
One Fish [Haiku]
solitary fish
darts about at lake's edge:
taunting fates & fishers.
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“Tortuous” [Poetry Style #17 (委曲)] by Sikong Tu [w/ Audio]
Climbing Taihang Mountain,
On the green winding way.
The jade-lined trail in fog,
Floral scents from the gray.
Stuck in unflowing time,
'Til a song sung bright and gay...
I'm steered back to my past
With the grace of ghosts at play.
Skirting roiling waters,
A Roc soars after prey.
The Tao is unbounded --
Round or square as it may.
NOTE: The late Tang Dynasty poet, Sikong Tu (a.k.a. Ssŭ-k‘ung T‘u,) wrote an ars poetica entitled Twenty-Four Styles of Poetry. It presents twenty-four poems that are each in a different tone, reflecting varied concepts from Taoist philosophy and aesthetics. Above is a crude translation of the seventeenth of the twenty-four poems. This poem’s Chinese title is 委曲, and has been translated as: “Grievance” and “In Tortuous Ways.”
