cattle graze,
in an alpine meadow,
under giant pines.
Alpine Meadow [Haiku]
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Tag Archives: poetry
Cloud Magic [Haiku]
clouds retreat,
revealing a new mountain, then...
vanish it again.
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Showing Gold [Haiku]
riverside tree:
shows gold to the outside;
its core, still green.
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“Parks and Ponds” by Ralph Waldo Emerson [w/ Audio]
Parks and ponds are good by day;
I do not delight
In black acres of the night,
Nor my unseasoned step disturbs
The sleeps of trees or dreams of herbs.
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Slipknot [Free Verse]
As I walk through the woods,
I flow through something
As it flows around & against me...
-- Like a slipknot --
I don't know what it is.
I just feel the slightest of drags
As I feel the greatest of exhilarations.
The drag is subtle...
-- Like a slipknot --
What it is in me that slips past
Whatever it is in nature --
I don't know.
But I know there is an interaction,
Of sorts,
Like a free end through a noose...
-- Like a slipknot --
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PROMPT: Blog – Change
Daily writing prompt
What change, big or small, would you like your blog to make in the world?
If I’m being entirely honest, everything that’s come out of this enterprise has been of selfish motive — even those activities that seem like they have broader purpose. For example, I started book reviewing because: a.) I found it disheartening how many books I read that I had virtually no recollection of a couple years down the line, and b.) because, while I felt I knew good writing when I read it, I couldn’t really say what it was that made it good or bad without taking a more analytical look into the matter. (And I was pretty sure good writing wouldn’t come to me osmotically — merely by reading good writing — if I didn’t understand why it was good writing.)
I started recording classic poems to get a better sense of the sound quality of well-crafted poetry (and to become more comfortable with the sound of my own voice.)
I guess the honest answer is that I hope to be smarter and more capable as a result of the practice. It is continuing education, a fostering of the Beginner’s Mind.
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“Bold” [Poetry Style #11] by Sikong Tu [w/ Audio]
View flowers like a bandit;
Let nature flow through you,
Breathing in the Great Way
As you let your crazy brew.
Wander like the free winds --
Sea and mountain in gray-blue.
Feel true power overflow,
As all nature lives through you.
Before: sun, moon, and stars;
Behind: the one from two.
By dawn, sea turtles have gone,
Soak your feet where they withdrew.
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 crude translation of the eleventh of the twenty-four poems. This poem’s Chinese title is 豪放, which has been translated to “Free,” “Set Free,” and “Broad-minded” in various English language translations.
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Dark Evening Brown [Senryū]
a Dark Evening Brown
flits about the woods on a
bright morning, Brown.
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Monkey Hot Tub? [Haiku]
macaques heard,
but not seen, amid the fog
of Winter hot springs.
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“I saw a man pursuing the horizon” by Stephen Crane [w/ Audio]
I saw a man pursuing the horizon;
Round and round they sped.
I was disturbed at this;
I accosted the man.
"It is futile," I said,
"You can never ---"
"You lie," he cried,
And ran on.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 