I fear’d the fury of my wind
Would blight all blossoms fair & true,
And my sun it shin’d & shin’d,
And my wind it never blew.
But a blossom fair or true
Was not found on any tree;
For all blossoms grew & grew
Fruitless, false, tho’ fair to see.
prow points seaward
in widening channel;
geese pass overhead.
tree, wrapped in vines,
shape broken & trunk hidden;
an attempt to blend?
South of Yangtze, stands of red tangerine
Can endure winter while remaining green.
Is it that the weather there is so warm?
No. Their nature 's to bear a winter storm.
What might well serve the joyful traveler
Will be loathsome peril to passengers.
Fate factors in chance and situation --
Not playing around in cyclic rotation.
You may cultivate crops however you please,
But should heed shade thrown by mountains & trees.
This is the fourth poem in 300 Tang Poems [唐诗三百首] and the final poem of a quartet that opens that collection. The original in Simplified Chinese is:
江南有丹橘， 经冬犹绿林；
岂伊地气暖？ 自有岁寒心。
可以荐嘉客， 奈何阻重深！
运命惟所遇， 循环不可寻。
徒言树桃李， 此木岂无阴？
mountain trail:
kicked stone sails, then drops...
out of sight.
hermit climbs the hill:
clouds mask his ascent,
obscure the cavemouth.
unfurled buds,
not drooped to gravity,
tell Spring’s story.
Ancient temple carved with features:
Beasts, men, gods and mythic creatures.
Imagine my surprise when I
Came face-to-face with this lil’ guy.
The lizard did his level best
To stay stock still with puffed-out chest.
To pass for a chiseled dragon,
But couldn’t keep its tail from waggin’.
trunk splits to branches
that stretch to the edge
of oxygen’s crossing.
pavement glistens;
yellow leaves sodden:
nothing moves... but drips.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 