Winter Forest
blue air
snowbound pockets
sailing the covered land
that's drifting white
branches broken
between the light
we lie in the snow
to sink beyond
anyone's sight
the streamlets circle
they wrap us
in their ice-bound arms
and we are one
shining with the sun
Autumn Night, A Note
Autumn Night, A Note
Wei Yingwu (~737 – 792)
By chance I think of you this autumn night
Between my steps and song, and cooling skies:
Within your quiet hills a pine cone falls,
For you as well must not have closed your eyes.
| Chinese 秋夜寄邱員外 韋應物 懷君屬秋夜 散步詠涼天 空山松子落 幽人應未眠 | Pronunciation Qiū Yè Jì Qiū Yuán Wài |
Farewell to a Lofty Monk
Farewell to a Lofty Monk
Liu Changqing (709-785)
A lofty cloud has met a common crane,
But how to live together in this land?
Don’t stay out here, though filled with fertile hills,
So many know this place, like grains of sand.
| Chinese 送上人 劉長卿 孤雲將野鶴 豈向人間住 莫買沃洲山 時人已知處 | Pronunciation |
The Lute Player
The Lute Player
Liu Changqing (709-785)
As water flows, your lute of seven strings . . .
I hear the wind between the winter pines.
You pull an ancient tune that, though I love,
The players now can hardly play the lines.
| Chinese 彈琴 劉長卿 泠泠七絃上 靜聽松風寒 古調雖自愛 今人多不彈 | Pronunciation Dàn Qín |
Climbing the Bird Watch
Climbing the Bird Watch
Wang Zhihuan (688-742)
The white sun sets beyond the mountain line,
The Yellow River joins the ocean’s flow—
If poor but want a thousand-mile view,
Ascend a flight of stairs and it will show.
Thoughts on a Quiet Night
Thoughts on a Quiet Night
Li Bai (701-762)
Before my bed the bright moon shines its light,
Perhaps the frost now covers all the ground;
I lift my head to see the shining moon,
I bow my head to see my native town.
| Chinese 靜夜思 李白 床前明月光 疑是地上霜 舉頭望明月 低頭思故鄉 | Pronunciation Jìng Yè Sī Lǐ Bái |
Spring Dawn
Spring Dawn
Meng Haoran (689/691–740)
Asleep in spring, unconscious of the dawn,
The chirp chirp song of birds is everywhere.
Last night the thunder, wind, and rain came long—
How many blossoms now remain out there?
| Chinese 春曉 孟 浩 然 春眠不覺曉 處處聞啼鳥 夜來風雨聲 花落知多少 | Pronunciation Chūn Xiǎo Mèng Hàorán |
Farewell to Cui
Farewell to Cui
Pei Di (born ~ 714 A.D.)On mountains steep and valleys deep
You’ll smile beyond the realm from there—
For just a day you’ll go that way,
To Peach Spring Garden, free of care.
| Chinese 送崔九 裴迪 歸山深淺去 須盡丘壑美 莫學武陵人 暫遊桃源裡 | Pronunciation Sòng Cuī Jiǔ Péi Dí |
Gazing at Zhongnan’s Snow
Gazing at Zhongnan’s Snow
Zu Yong (699-746?)As snow on Zhongnan Mountain floats in blooms
To form beyond the peak in cloudy nets
The forest clears in brightly colored hues—
But in the town, the cold and darkness sets.
| Chinese 終南望餘雪 祖詠 終南陰嶺秀 積雪浮雲端 林表明霽色 城中增暮寒 | Pronunciation Zhōng Nán Wàng Yú Xuě Zǔ Yǒng |
Thoughts on Autumn (a micropoetry series)
drifting home
with the autumn leaves
colored into the earth
a spirit dream
as you walk along the lawn
all covered in leaves
this spot where
you stand, molded
like a statue
and chiseled deep
into the earth
my spirit lay
beneath the autumn wind
inside a blanket
of all your colors
thoughts like a net
woven into the fabric of the wind
to capture what little impulse
there is to escape
