Tag Archives: poem

“Concentrated” [Poetry Style #4] by Sikong Tu [w/ Audio]

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Evergreen woods and a rough-hewn shack.
 The sun sets through clear sky.
 I shed my hat as I walk alone,
   Listening for songbirds.
 No wild geese are flying
   From whence my beloved lives.
 But in my mind, we are close --
   Close enough to touch.
 Dark clouds stand over the sea,
   But in moonlight river isles gleam.
 My eyes and my words stop at
   That great river that sprawls ahead.

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 fourth of the twenty-four poems.

A Taipei Taoist’s Limerick

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There once was a Taoist from Taipei,
 Who knew all one could know of the Way.
   When asked for directions,
   He'd state his objections,
 "The way that can be stated is not The Way."

Rise & Shine [Haiku]

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canna lily blooms
 catch the light of sunrise as
  stems sleep in the shade.

The Circle of Play [Lyric Poem]

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Sometime not too distant,
   There will come a day
 When you will return to
   A frequent state of play.

When that day comes around,
   You'll have lost all concern
 For the adults' belief that
   Frivolity must be spurned.

You'll take to tossing balls
 And climbing up the walls,
 Just like you used to do
  When you were one or two --
    Before that human zoo
     Got its hooks in you.

“Silver” by Walter de la Mare [w/ Audio]

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Slowly, silently, the moon
 Walks the night in her silver shoon;
 This way, and that, she peers, and sees
 Silver fruit upon silver trees;
One by one the casements catch
 Her beams beneath the silvery thatch;
 Couched in his kennel, like a log,
 With paws of silver sleeps the dog;
From their shadowy cote the white breasts peep
 Of doves in a silver-feathered sleep;
 A harvest mouse goes scampering by,
 With silver claws, and silver eye;
And moveless fish in the water gleam,
 By silver reeds in a silver stream.

Moving Flower Mystery [Haiku]

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trailside chicory
 waves on a windless day:
  a long-gone cyclist?

Self-Cleaning Lake [Haiku]

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fallen petals
 swept by undulating waves
  into a neat pile.

Comic’s Limerick

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There once was a peevish standup comic.
 Whose war on hecklers would quickly go atomic.
   A heckler said, "You suck!"
   So, he hit 'em with a truck.
 A response neither timely nor economic.

“Fortuneteller’s Song” by Liu Yong [w/ Audio]

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The maples have grown old;
 Orchards have begun to wither.
 The reds and greens have faded.
 Climbing the heights, I
   Feel the chill of late Autumn.
 A ceaseless pounding sound
   Drowns out the setting sun.
 Remembered sorrows flock 
   To mind, making new sorrows.
 We are separated 
    By a thousand miles;
 From our two distant places
   We can't even meet in dreams.
 The rain stops, and the sky clears;
   One can see the twelve green peaks.
 Speechless, who could understand
   My angst, as I stand cliffside.
 I can write of my grief, but
   Will the clouds bring a reply?

Architects’ Limerick

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There once was a team of architects
 Who double and triple checked the specs.
   But they faced a plight
   'Cause left didn't check right --
 So, the building's hunchback was hard to detect.