Puppy Poem [Lyric Poem]

I saw a puppy the other day,
And I had my fears
That it might grow into its big feet,
But not into those ears!

“Tavern” by Edna St. Vincent Millay [w/ Audio]

I'll keep a little tavern
Below the high hill's crest,
Wherein all grey-eyed people
May sit them down and rest.

There shall be plates a-plenty,
And mugs to melt the chill
Of all the grey-eyed people
Who happen up the hill.

There sound will sleep the traveller,
And dream his journey's end,
But I will rouse at midnight
The falling fire to tend.

Aye, 'tis a curious fancy --
But all the good I know
Was taught me out of two grey eyes
A long time ago.

“The Blossom” by William Blake [w/ Audio]

Merry, Merry Sparrow!
Under leaves so green
A happy Blossom
Sees you swift as arrow
Seek your cradle narrow
Near my Bosom.

Pretty, Pretty Robin!
Under leaves so green
A happy Blossom
Hears you sobbing, sobbing,
Pretty, Pretty Robin,
Near my bosom.

“Bamboo Grove Cabin” [竹里馆] by Wang Wei [王维] [w/ Audio]

Sitting alone -- secluded bamboo grove:
I whistle or pluck my zither;
People don't know my deep forest;
Moon and I shine on each other.

Original in Simplified Chinese:

独坐幽篁里
弹琴复长啸
深林人不知
明月来相照

Falling [Lyric Poem]

The days of riches are now behind.
I think I thought I lost my mind --
It fell into a deep, dark hole
When my severed head took a roll
Up to the lip, over the edge,
Falling -- I took a solemn pledge:
That my skull drop so straight and true
To hit bottom and rip straight through
To the other side.

“Night Rain Sent North” [夜雨寄北] by Li Shangyin [李商隐] [w/ Audio]

When am I coming home? I don't know.
At Bashan, night rains swell Autumn ponds.
Recall, candles in your West Window?
Ah, through night rains, to talk and bond!

The original in Simplified Chinese:

君问归期未有期, 巴山夜雨涨秋池。
何当共剪西窗烛, 却话巴山夜雨时?

Note: This is poem #298 of the 300 Tang Poems [唐诗三百首.]

Bird on a Wire [Lyric Poem]

On a pleasant mid-Spring day,
A bird landed -- no bounce or sway.
It perched, chirping - as if in play:
I blinked, and it'd flown away.

“I like to see it lap the Miles –” (383) by Emily Dickinson [w/ Audio]

I like to see it lap the Miles --
And lick the Valleys up --
And stop to feed itself at Tanks --
And then - prodigious step

Around a Pile of Mountains --
And supercilious peer
In Shanties -- by the sides of Roads --
And then a Quarry pare

To fit its sides
And crawl between
Complaining all the while
In horrid -- hooting stanza --
Then chase itself down Hill --

And neigh like Boanerges --
Then - prompter than a Star
Stop - docile and omnipotent
At it's own stable door --

“To the Muse” by William Blake [w/ Audio]

Whether on Ida's shady brow,
Or in the chambers of the East,
The chambers of the sun, that now
From antient melody have ceas'd;

Whether in Heav'n ye wander fair,
Or the green corners of the earth,
Or the blue regions of the air,
Where the melodious winds have birth;

Whether on chrystal rocks ye rove,
Beneath the bosom of the sea
Wand'ring in many a coral grove,
Fair Nine, forsaking Poetry!

How have you left the antient love
That bards of old enjoy'd in you!
The languid strings do scarely move!
The sound is forc'd, the notes are few!

“Spring Thoughts” by Li Bai [w/ Audio]

Yan grass shimmers like silken jade.
Qin mulberry trees' green leaves droop.
Your homecoming is now at hand
As heartbreak has me thin and stooped.
Spring Winds and I are strangers --
Why, past my curtains, the inward swoop?

Chinese Title: 春思; Original poem in Simplified Chinese:

燕草如碧丝, 秦桑低绿枝;
当君怀归日, 是妾断肠时。
春风不相识, 何事入罗帏?

Note: this is poem #7 in “300 Tang Poems” [唐诗三百首]