one character, Dao,
looks like a road that rounds
some great attraction,
but keeps moving onward
to undiscovered country.
The Dao Keeps Rolling [Tanka]
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Category Archives: poem
Dog Rose [Haiku]
one dog rose bloom
stands out from a blurred world:
still, as shadows twist.
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“The Snow Storm” by Edna St. Vincent Millay [w/ Audio]
No hawk hangs over in this air:
The urgent snow is everywhere.
The wing adroiter than a sail
Must lean away from such a gale,
Abandoning its straight intent,
Or else expose tough ligament
And tender flesh to what before
Meant dampened feathers, nothing more.
Forceless upon our backs there fall
Infrequent flakes hexagonal,
Devised in many a curious style
To charm our safety for a while,
Where close to earth like mice we go
Under the horizontal snow.
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Last Gasp [Haiku]
the sun's last gasp
glows against walls and towers,
but forms deep shadows.
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Pond Life [Haiku]
Speakeasy Stained-glass [Free Verse]
The light of a streetlamp
Streams through the stained glass,
And colors spread stably
Over surfaces below.
Then car after car
Pass by that bar,
And the colors are
Climbing and crawling,
Shifting and sprawling,
As headlamp light, briefly,
Dances through the window --
Kaleidoscope swirling the
Shockingly bright colors
In short-lived arcs.
The window was designed
To evoke a cathedral,
And deny all debauchery...
Oh, how it's failed.
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“A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky” by Lewis Carroll [w/ Audio]
A boat beneath a sunny sky,
Lingering onward dreamily
In an evening of July --
Children three that nestle near,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Pleased a simple tale to hear --
Long has paled that sunny sky:
Echoes fade and memories die:
Autumn frosts have slain July.
Still she haunts me, phantomwise,
Alice moving under skies
Never seen by waking eyes.
Children yet, the tale to hear,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Lovingly shall nestle near.
In a Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die:
Ever drifting down the stream --
Lingering in the golden gleam --
Life, what is it but a dream?
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Tiny Island [Haiku]
Spring Tricks [Haiku]
early Spring leaves,
catching the morning light,
look Autumn yellow.
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“Form” [Poetry Style #20] by Sikong Tu [w/ Audio]
Quit seeking to firm up the soul;
Return to the unadorned truth.
One can seek the shape of water;
One can write of a pleasant spring.
Winds shift the shapes of clouds,
Flowers stand tall, and flowers droop.
The great waves of a sprawling sea,
The mountain's craggy ruggedness...
They all emulate the Great Way.
Every wonderful thing is dust.
Find semblance beyond shape or form.
In this person, the multitudes.
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 translation of the twentieth of the twenty-four poems. Translated titles vary. This one has been titled “Descriptive” and “Form and Feature” by varied translators.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 