“Tacit” [Poetry Style #12] by Sikong Tu [w/ Audio]

Without a word,
The gist is grasped.
With no wails or soft sobs,
Sadness spreads heart-to-heart.
There is an enigmatic Prime Mover
With whom each of us either sinks or floats.
Dregs of rustic wine in a fine strainer.
Buds on the cusp of bloom turned back by cold.
Dust motes spreading by Brownian motion.
Sea spume floating and tumbling onto shore.
Shallow, deep, cohering, or scattering.
Of ten thousand, any sample will do.

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 twelfth of the twenty-four poems. Translated titles vary: Herbert Giles entitled this one “Conservation,” whereas Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping called it “The Implicit Style.”

“Natural” [Poetry Style #10] by Sikong Tu [w/ Audio]

Stoop anywhere and pluck it up,
But if you look 'round - it's not there.
Any path may lead you to it.
A stroke of the brush becomes Spring,
And the flowers are in full bloom. --
It's like seeing a new year dawn:
Snatch at it and you won't have it.
Seize it by force and you'll be poorer.
Be like the old mountain hermit --
Like duckweed gathered by stream flow.
Find calm amidst storms of feeling
By knowing Heaven's harmonies.

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 tenth of the twenty-four poems.

“Seeking a Hermit-Sage in Vain” by Jia Dao [w/ Audio]

I question a local boy under a pine.
He says, "Teacher is gathering herbs
right here on the mountain...
But who can say where?
The mountain is thick with clouds."