Tag Archives: poetry

PROMPT: Favorite Artists

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Daily writing prompt
Who are your favorite artists?
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If one means “arts” in the broadest sense of the word, I’d have to say William Blake, because I like both his poetry and his graphic artistry, as well as his particular brand of madness.

If you mean visual artistry (which people often do when they use the term without a qualifier,) I generally enjoy fantastical and imaginative art, but not so fantastical or imaginative that it requires / shows no skill. So, artists like Vincent Van Gogh, Francisco Goya, Hieronymus Bosch, and M.C. Escher top the list.

Grave Reviews [Free Verse]

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I click on Google Maps;
 a pin highlights for a cemetery,
  and, here, I stumble upon 
   graveyard reviews.

These reviews intrigue me because
 it seems to me that if one is capable 
  of writing a cemetery review,
    then one is unqualified.

And, if one is qualified to comment
 on the caliber of an eternal resting place,
  then one is unlikely to be capable of 
   posting a review.

I read one of the one-star reviews
 and see that the reviewer's principal complaint
 is an overabundance of "pocong."

"What is a 'Pocong?'" you may ask.
 It is a Javanese ghost that takes up
  occupancy in death shrouds.

Why is there a Javanese ghost
 infestation in a cemetery 4000 kilometers
  from Java, and -- as near as I can tell --
   with zero Javanese occupants?

The review does not say,
 but I love that someone panned 
  a cemetery based on the presence 
   of foreign ghosts

[and not because it is simultaneously
 phasmophobic and xenophobic.]

But because it shows an unbridled commitment 
 to one's imagination that is usually 
  only seen among children.

Cloud Deception [Haiku]

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dark rain clouds
 hang around all day,
  without raining.

Cemetery Math [Free Verse]

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i walk through the graveyard,
   subtracting birth from death dates
      to determine age at death.

there’s a correlation between 
   speed of calculation &
      the degree of tragedy.

the faster i can determine an age,
   the more disconcerting the death:
      like the girl — 1990 to 2008.

the 89 year old man who survived WWII
   service in the Burmese jungle
      doesn’t raise as many questions.

Shape Shift [Haiku]

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in waning sunlight,
 the shapes of shadows shift
  as boats drift.

Lake Waves [Haiku]

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lake waves break ashore
 unpredictably, catching
  hapless strollers.

Firewalker Limerick

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There once was a wild-eyed firewalker
 whose show turned out to be a shocker.
   His feet were unharmed,
   but clothes not as charmed.
  they burst aflame & he became a firesquawker.

Melancholy Autumn [Haiku]

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wistful autumn days:
 i look up to the blue sky
  from the tawny grass.

BOOKS: The Poet Li Po AD 701-762 Trans. & Ed. by Arthur Waley

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The Poet Li Po A.D. 701-762The Poet Li Po A.D. 701-762 by Arthur Waley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Available online at: Project Gutenberg – The Poet Li Po

Li Po, also Romanized “Li Bai,” is one of China’s most famous poets, the prolific Tang Dynasty poet wrote extensively at the nexus of intoxication and the beauty of the natural world. His well-loved and evocative poem, “Drinking Alone by Moonlight,” is a prime example [and is included in this selection.]

The selection consists of a small number of translations by [20th-century Orientalist] Arthur Waley. It’s only 20-some of the 1,000-ish extant poems of Li Bai, but it does offer variety in form and subject matter. It doesn’t include all of Li Bai’s most anthologized poems, which I consider a plus — i.e. Waley didn’t just assemble a greatest hits album.

The Waley translations aren’t as sparse as many that one will read. That offers the advantage of being clearer in meaning while losing some of the feel of the original. That said, I enjoyed this group of translations and didn’t feel they were too verbose – for the most part. It’s a selection well worth reading for those who enjoy poetry.

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