Puppy Poem [Lyric Poem]

I saw a puppy the other day,
And I had my fears
That it might grow into its big feet,
But not into those ears!

“Tavern” by Edna St. Vincent Millay [w/ Audio]

I'll keep a little tavern
Below the high hill's crest,
Wherein all grey-eyed people
May sit them down and rest.

There shall be plates a-plenty,
And mugs to melt the chill
Of all the grey-eyed people
Who happen up the hill.

There sound will sleep the traveller,
And dream his journey's end,
But I will rouse at midnight
The falling fire to tend.

Aye, 'tis a curious fancy --
But all the good I know
Was taught me out of two grey eyes
A long time ago.

“The Blossom” by William Blake [w/ Audio]

Merry, Merry Sparrow!
Under leaves so green
A happy Blossom
Sees you swift as arrow
Seek your cradle narrow
Near my Bosom.

Pretty, Pretty Robin!
Under leaves so green
A happy Blossom
Hears you sobbing, sobbing,
Pretty, Pretty Robin,
Near my bosom.

“Bamboo Grove Cabin” [竹里馆] by Wang Wei [王维] [w/ Audio]

Sitting alone -- secluded bamboo grove:
I whistle or pluck my zither;
People don't know my deep forest;
Moon and I shine on each other.

Original in Simplified Chinese:

独坐幽篁里
弹琴复长啸
深林人不知
明月来相照

Falling [Lyric Poem]

The days of riches are now behind.
I think I thought I lost my mind --
It fell into a deep, dark hole
When my severed head took a roll
Up to the lip, over the edge,
Falling -- I took a solemn pledge:
That my skull drop so straight and true
To hit bottom and rip straight through
To the other side.

“Night Rain Sent North” [夜雨寄北] by Li Shangyin [李商隐] [w/ Audio]

When am I coming home? I don't know.
At Bashan, night rains swell Autumn ponds.
Recall, candles in your West Window?
Ah, through night rains, to talk and bond!

The original in Simplified Chinese:

君问归期未有期, 巴山夜雨涨秋池。
何当共剪西窗烛, 却话巴山夜雨时?

Note: This is poem #298 of the 300 Tang Poems [唐诗三百首.]

Bird on a Wire [Lyric Poem]

On a pleasant mid-Spring day,
A bird landed -- no bounce or sway.
It perched, chirping - as if in play:
I blinked, and it'd flown away.

Purple Ring [Haiku]

ring of blossoms
around the tree trunk:
still, as shadows creep.

“I like to see it lap the Miles –” (383) by Emily Dickinson [w/ Audio]

I like to see it lap the Miles --
And lick the Valleys up --
And stop to feed itself at Tanks --
And then - prodigious step

Around a Pile of Mountains --
And supercilious peer
In Shanties -- by the sides of Roads --
And then a Quarry pare

To fit its sides
And crawl between
Complaining all the while
In horrid -- hooting stanza --
Then chase itself down Hill --

And neigh like Boanerges --
Then - prompter than a Star
Stop - docile and omnipotent
At it's own stable door --

Reflection [Haiku]

heron & reflection drift apart
until one of them vanishes.