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”
Category Archives: China
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”
Streets in Shanghai by Tomas Tranströmer
Streets in Shanghaiby Tomas TranströmerTranslated by Patty Crane 1 The white butterfly in the park is being read by many. I love that cabbage-moth as if it were a fluttering corner of truth itself! At dawn the running crowds set our quiet planet in motion. Then the park fills with people. To each one, eightContinue reading “Streets in Shanghai by Tomas Tranströmer”
Autumn moon by Li Bai
Autumn moon by Li Bai Translated by Ezra Pound The jeweled steps are already quite white with dew, It is so late the dew soaks my gauze stockings, And I let down the crystal curtain And watch the moon through the clear autumn PAINTING: “Pine in moonlight” by Ong Schan Tchow.
Often I Imagine the Earth by Dan Gerber
Often I Imagine the Earthby Dan Gerber Often I imagine the earththrough the eyes of the atoms we’re made of—atoms, peculiaratoms everywhere—no me, no you, no opinions,no beginning, no middle, no end,soaring together like thoseancient Chinese birdshatched miraculously with only one wing,helping each other fly home. IMAGE: “Jian birds” from Sancai Tuhui, an encyclopedia compiledContinue reading “Often I Imagine the Earth by Dan Gerber”
POETRY and PLACES 