Mei-Mei Berssenbrugge
Worlds emerge and transform, so metaphor uses birds to extend disrupted thought. / I want to learn from what generated the metaphor, the need. — Mei-Mei Berssenbrugge, from “Coda,” A Treatise on Stars (New Directions, 2020)
Category: Chinese Culture
Tsangyang Gyatso
Drawing diagrams I measuredMovements of the stars;Though her tender flesh is nearHer mind I cannot measure. —Tsangyang Gyatso, The Turquoise Bee: The Tantric Lovesongs of the Sixth Dalai Lama. (Harpercollins; 1st edition March 1994)
Feng Menglong
My handsome fatal foe,why are you gone so long?I can’t stop my heart from trembling, missing you.You put some sugar on the tip of my nose.I cannot lick it,though it smells so nice.You leave something sweet behindand let me think about it slowly. — Feng Menglong, Anonymous Poetry Collection (1574-1646)
Kenneth Rexroth
O heart, heart, so singularlyIntransigent and corruptible,Here we lie entranced by the starlit water,And moments that should each last forever Slide unconsciously by us like water. — Kenneth Rexroth, from “Another Spring,” One Hundred Poems from the Chinese. (New Directions January 17, 1971) Originally published 1956.
Zhuang Zhou
I’m going to try speaking some reckless words, and I want you to listen recklessly. — Zhuang Zhou (c. 369 BC – c. 286 BC), The Complete Works of Zhuangzi. Translated by Burton Watson. (Columbia University Press December 3, 2013)
Li Yu (c. 937 – 15 August 978)
One range of mountains, Two ranges of mountains, The mountains are far, the sky high, the mists and waters cold. My lingering thoughts have reddened the maple leaves. The chrysanthemums bloom, The chrysanthemums wither. The wild geese from the border fly high, but my love has not come home. The wind and the moon play… Continue reading Li Yu (c. 937 – 15 August 978)
Liu Ch’ang
The moon, emerging, Floats where clouds are not; Wind rises, Strikes the purity of night, Stars compete In trembling flickers, The Milky Way is empty, Clear, and bright. Old trees’ sparse shadows Intersperse. Scared birds cut off their Noises lingering. This autumn I am rapt In what’s already awry, While crickets campaign Again at night.… Continue reading Liu Ch’ang
Wu Men
Ten thousand flowers in spring, the moon in autumn, a cool breeze in summer, snow in winter. If your mind isn’t clouded by unnecessary things, this is the best season of your life. —Wu Men, from The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry. Translated by Stephen Mitchell (Harper and Row, 1989)
Wendy Xu
Maybe don’t for another minute be afraid of anything. Because swimming is really useful against drowning which you didn’t know until you tried it. And then your life was just massive regret. And then you thought about three purple blossoms in the hair of a beautiful girl. — Wendy Xu, “Please Stand A While Longer… Continue reading Wendy Xu
Wendy Xu
I know falling to my knees still means something. The basin of cool water still answers the moon. Here you are. Here you have always been. — Wendy Xu, from “Auditorium Poem,” You Are Not Dead. (Cleveland State University Press Poetry Center 2013)
The Vale of Soul-Making 