swirled striations
in the pond algae
reflect floating clouds.
Algae Patterns (Haiku)
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Category Archives: poem
“Tiantai” [天台] by Fēnggān [w/ Audio]
I came once to Tiantai,
And back ten-thousand times.
Like clouds or water tides:
Drift and flow, come and go.
I stroll, free of worry,
Buddha's Path - in no hurry.
While the world's forked roads
Lead men to fret and scurry.
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“No Man Is an Island” by John Donne [w/ Audio]
No man is an island,
Entire of itself;
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less,
As well as if a promontory were:
As well as if a manor of thy friend's
Or of thine own were.
Any man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know
for whom the bell tolls;
I tolls for thee.
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Cliff’s Edge Poppy [Haiku]
at cliff's edge,
the swaying red poppy,
lures one closer.
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Fēnggān [Senryū]
the monk rode in
on a bright-eyed tiger, and
started hulling rice.
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“Spring Rise” by Fan Chengda [w/ Audio]
In Spring, the waters rise --
Shore grass sways with breezes,
And geese drift right beside;
Boats glide as the stream pleases.
Yon pagoda looks far,
but feels quite close.
Streamside, one feels a chill.
Fields have yet to be plowed --
Not while the torrents spill.
Mulberry limbs are bowed.
Soon we'll have a taste,
and harvest cocoons.
NOTE: The title of this poem is 蝶 戀 花. Xu Yuanchong uses the quite literal “Butterflies in Love with Flowers” as his translated title. I chose differently because a wet Spring is the throughline of the poem and, well, there are no explicit butterflies (or flowers) in the poem [only their potential.] Of course, maybe that’s exactly why the original is a great title.
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Dead Tree Stillness [Haiku]
clouds drift upon
mirror clear waters;
dead tree stillness.
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“My Life had stood — a Loaded Gun” (764) by Emily Dickinson [w/ Audio]
My Life had stood - a Loaded Gun -
In Corners - till a Day
The Owner passed - identified -
And carried Me away -
And now We roam in Sovreign Woods -
And now We hunt the Doe -
And every time I speak for Him
The Mountains straight reply -
And do I smile, such cordial light
Opon the Valley glow -
It is as a Vesuvian face
Had let it's pleasure through -
And when at Night - Our good Day done -
I guard My Master's Head -
'Tis better than the Elder Duck's
Deep Pillow - to have shared -
To foe of His - I'm deadly foe -
None stir the second time -
On whom I lay a Yellow Eye -
Or an emphatic Thumb -
Though I than He - may longer live
He longer must - than I -
For I have but the power to kill,
Without - the power to die -
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Blue & Yellow [Haiku]
spring gentians
twirl amid buttercups
on a green hilltop.
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Spring Snow [Haiku]
"snow? in mid-Spring!"
its stay is short, but is felt
in the porter's bones.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 