from stony ground,
a dense cluster of yellow
grows defiantly.
Stony Ground [Haiku]
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Tag Archives: poem
“Hand in Hand” by Su Shi [w/ Audio]
Hand in hand.
Plum petals floated to her skirt.
-- Love unbound --
Now, lost souls mill about:
Thier loved ones long unseen.
Old songs are heard once more,
Recalling Tower and Temple.
On ordinary days,
I'd write a thousand lines.
Now, I brush away dust,
And think of us, together.
The moon reflects in the lake.
Willows droop beside water.
A dragon-head cloud drifts on air.
Note: Translated titles vary. e.g. Xu Yuanchong entitles his translation “Song of Incense.”
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Ancient Landscape [Tanka]
ancient landscape:
boulders, remnants of mountains,
are strewn about;
prehistoric tribes lived here,
and it looked the same for them.
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Stony Spires [Haiku]
fog retreats to
reveal stony spires
like ghostly soldiers.
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Summer Sparkle [Haiku]
summer sunlight
sparkles on a blue lake --
always distantly.
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Dandelion Spring [Haiku]
fields of yellow
through glades and pastures:
dandelions are here!
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Updraft [Haiku]
a vulture soars,
riding the updraft and
sniffing for Death.
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Anthropomorphized Hound [Senryū]
its forelimbs crossed,
the dog looks "in the know,"
but what 's it know?
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“Real” [Poetry Style #18] by Sikong Tu [w/ Audio]
Plain and simple words are chosen,
Even to express tangled thoughts.
Then one comes upon a hermit,
And one glimpses the heart of Dao.
The clear stream burbles its soft song
Amid the shady ancient pine grove.
A woodsman passes with his cordwood;
A stranger listens to a lute song.
A strong feeling takes one over,
Bringing with it bliss and wonder,
And one's easy link with heaven
Is tender as the sound of water.
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 eighteenth of the twenty-four poems. Translated titles vary — e.g. Herbert A. Giles titled this translation “Actualities.”
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Mountain Rains [Haiku]
spring rains
crawl up the valley, yet
snow relicts persist.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 