Beijing Ascending by Graham Wood For Rosemary and Laura We spent all day getting to the top of things — climbing stairs, hauling on balustrades lifting our aching legs up one incline and then another: the pagoda the drum tower the bell tower the emperor’s favourite resting place on top of the wooded mountain …Continue reading “Beijing Ascending by Graham Wood”
Monthly Archives: September 2020
Yellow Fruit Tree Waterfall Park by Don Kingfisher Campbell
Yellow Fruit Tree Waterfall Park by Don Kingfisher Campbell Refreshing turbulent spray on passersby A piano of stepping stones ford wide river Leafy detritus lines asphalt paths Reflection of sky and trees in tranquil water Dark branches reach up from flowery ground Leaves spread out like fingers to catch sunlight Take a photo, paint aContinue reading “Yellow Fruit Tree Waterfall Park by Don Kingfisher Campbell”
Written on the Wall of West Forest Temple by Su Shi
Written on the Wall of West Forest Temple by Su Shi translated by Burton Weston From the side, a whole range; from the end, a single peak: Far, near, high, low, no two parts alike. Why can’t I tell the true shape of Lushan? Because I myself am in the mountain. PHOTO: Fog curls aroundContinue reading “Written on the Wall of West Forest Temple by Su Shi”
Rider’s Song by Federico García Lorca
Rider’s Song by Federico García Lorca Cordova, far and lonely. Black pony, full moon, And olives in my pocket: Although I know the roads, I’ll never reach Cordova. For the plain, for the wind, Black pony, red moon, And death is watching for me Beside Cordova’s towers. Alas! the long, long highway, Alas! my valiant pony,Continue reading “Rider’s Song by Federico García Lorca”
Roadside Poppies in Andalusia by Joan Leotta
Roadside Poppies in Andalusia by Joan Leotta Poppies cluster near the road after cutting wide red swaths through olive groves and pastures. Blood- red, the poppies drape fields and barrows like matador capes, marking, covering, scarred places on the land where blood once flowed. Their beauty makes a bright balm for those lost- in-battle soulsContinue reading “Roadside Poppies in Andalusia by Joan Leotta”
The Fishermen by Lynn White
The Fishermen by Lynn White The wall ran all along one side of the bay, steps up from the port at one end, down to the beach at the other. I climbed up the steps and looked over. So many fish. Huge fish. Swirling silver moons in a day blue sky. A net would haveContinue reading “The Fishermen by Lynn White”
Hadrian’s Wall by Jonathan Yungkans
Hadrian’s Wall by Jonathan Yungkans January snow had melted but wind’s frigid razors shaved away clothes, skin and blood, until white bones stood in our place. Grass and heather would stretch long and green in spring but for now, under a brackish sky it glowered before us brown, solid as a wooden wall in standoffishness—Continue reading “Hadrian’s Wall by Jonathan Yungkans”
London by Kim Whysall-Hammond
London by Kim Whysall-Hammond Emerging from the Tube you clothe me with dusty breath and ambient noise I feel you living restlessly lifeforce surging through centuries pulsing through busy streets I turn a corner and a garden churchyard filled with lunchers and tourists leads me to rest. When leaving you I reach down pet yourContinue reading “London by Kim Whysall-Hammond”
in the meadow magenta by Cynthia Hogue
in the meadow magenta by Cynthia Hogue (reading Robert Duncan in Haldon Forest) bloom looks like lupine from afar but up close the small bell- like flowers of wild hollyhock the holy that forth came that must come mystery of frond fern gorse a magic to which I relate to land of hillock and bolderContinue reading “in the meadow magenta by Cynthia Hogue”
Lucille Lang Day, Takamatsu: Ritsurin Garden
Takamatsu: Ritsurin Gardenby Lucille Lang Day Grafted together, black and red pine embrace—The Happy Couple of Ritsurin Garden, where six ponds brim with koi, yellow or mottled orange and white. Thirteen hills, one called “Mt. Fuji,” surround a man-made waterfall and teahouses in a landscape of oak, pine, plum, and cherry trees holding out tuftsContinue reading “Lucille Lang Day, Takamatsu: Ritsurin Garden”
POETRY and PLACES 