No subject
No. 2
A brief get together is better than nothing.
Ephemeral gatherings: time treasured all the more
Sending poems, intentions remain, long remembrances
Attentive fervent invited feast represents true friendship
Ali Mountain
Opening of sky and land, one novel scene:
Peaks and valley, winding road out of dusty earth
Little building--floors and stairs for the imperial family*
Marvelous railroad designed to reach the precarious cliffs.
Ten ten-thousand layered ranges, clouds like the sea
Three thousand years, this tree immortal
Climb higher still to look down upon
The vast ocean brightens, cradling a golden wheel.
*Japanese royalty
Monday, May 26, 2014
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Old and rich (or goodbyes and criticism)
No subject
No. 1
Farewell to Mirror Lake for many years
Club members use poetry to relay messages
Hard to meet face to face as folks grow older
Looking ahead to the future feel sad and down
Six Plows Graveyard
No. 2
All these wilderness graves, bones already cold
Deserted mountainside, water and clouds fading
At this point, everyone is equal,
Yet the rich folks have broader plots.
In this graveyard, every grave has a number. It's quite orderly and some people have larger plots than others.
No. 1
Farewell to Mirror Lake for many years
Club members use poetry to relay messages
Hard to meet face to face as folks grow older
Looking ahead to the future feel sad and down
Six Plows Graveyard
No. 2
All these wilderness graves, bones already cold
Deserted mountainside, water and clouds fading
At this point, everyone is equal,
Yet the rich folks have broader plots.
In this graveyard, every grave has a number. It's quite orderly and some people have larger plots than others.
Monday, May 05, 2014
Duanwu de mayo
Five Friends on the Fifth of Mayby Irene Yung
Gather round, raise a glass to spring
Bend down, pen songs of joy
You may ask why we eat sticky rice:
To save me from sorrow by your happy smiles
by Dana Jill Meaux Hatch
Chips & zonza, oil & vinegar, don't mix but still are delicious
Peanut butter & chocolate, bread & butter, do mix and still delicious
We love May 5th now 'cause
Friends hang out & mashup traditions
The Changing World
by Rebekah Anderson
The stunning flowers and glorious sunshine, abolish my winter woes,
My wonderful friends and echoing laughter, realize my summer dreams
All people revel at the world's blossoming
However some remorse at the things never to come
by Annalise Nordtvedt
The mashing of cultures is a beautiful picture of my life
Like the combining of foods at a bountiful feast with friends
Chips & jong-dzs, soy sauce & salsa, and an icy margarita
The diverse life of Chinese and American cultures...and Mexican
Dog City
by John Keay
Let's run together fast and free
Please stay close shorten your thoughts
Painstaking glory; 2 headlights sparse
Cut this young life down; forever depart
by Meggie Davidson Green
At last he plays a willing game of chance
In time she waits, long since the buzzer sounded
"When will the laundry be put away?"
Blank staring, tension mounting, awkward silence
Sunday, May 04, 2014
Sons and fathers
First visit to my son He's place
I arrived at Kanghe's*, a new scene and colors:
Delicate flowers and dangling willows contrast their beauty.
Like a utopia,** so at ease,***
Why leave and be entangled with the world?
*a mashup of my cousin Conway and uncle Huo's names
**she used the phase 'taoyuan' (peach garden) in reference to paradise, in reality, they lived in Minneapolis
***Chinese saying 'an ruo su' meaning 'even though circumstances are tough, I'm taking it easy.'
Family Ritual
All the previous generations tilled the fields of upper Cai.
Then war and upheaval, escaped chaos to the south sea sky.
Wide boundless smoke and waves for three-thousand miles,
Bitter sour wind and rain for eighty years.*
This island is not the place to bury your bones.
Hometown wouldn't require money for a mountain spot.
What day will our homeland be recovered?
Remembering ancestors, having nothing to say is most dark and bleak.
*my dad lived to 86 years
When parents die, it's a serious event in one's life. Usually, one doesn't have the heart to write poetry. But since I am a Christian, death is a long sleep, and one's soul is in heaven, there is no need to pretend that I am unable to write poems.
The last two lines allude to a classic poem about an old father who told his son, "When the king's troupes recover the lost territory, and when you make remembrance of your ancestors, don't forget to tell your parents about that day."
I arrived at Kanghe's*, a new scene and colors:
Delicate flowers and dangling willows contrast their beauty.
Like a utopia,** so at ease,***
Why leave and be entangled with the world?
*a mashup of my cousin Conway and uncle Huo's names
**she used the phase 'taoyuan' (peach garden) in reference to paradise, in reality, they lived in Minneapolis
***Chinese saying 'an ruo su' meaning 'even though circumstances are tough, I'm taking it easy.'
Family Ritual
All the previous generations tilled the fields of upper Cai.
Then war and upheaval, escaped chaos to the south sea sky.
Wide boundless smoke and waves for three-thousand miles,
Bitter sour wind and rain for eighty years.*
This island is not the place to bury your bones.
Hometown wouldn't require money for a mountain spot.
What day will our homeland be recovered?
Remembering ancestors, having nothing to say is most dark and bleak.
*my dad lived to 86 years
When parents die, it's a serious event in one's life. Usually, one doesn't have the heart to write poetry. But since I am a Christian, death is a long sleep, and one's soul is in heaven, there is no need to pretend that I am unable to write poems.
The last two lines allude to a classic poem about an old father who told his son, "When the king's troupes recover the lost territory, and when you make remembrance of your ancestors, don't forget to tell your parents about that day."
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