PROMPT: Motivates

Daily writing prompt
What motivates you?

When tigers chase, I run. When sunsets glow, I sit and watch.

“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.

The Way [Haiku]

the mountain trail rounds
from shady to sunny side,
where caves line the path.

The Tao of the Traveler [Lyric Poem]

With a pack on my back,
 I lurched out of the known.
Would I ever be back?
 Or go where I was blown?

Who can know where they'll land?
 Maybe on a distant shore?
Or amid desert sands?
 Or mountains? Or next door?

That's the joy of a life;
 One can end up anywhere.
Embrace chaos sans strife,
 And you'll live a life that's rare.