philosophical poetry

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.
 
 

wet
with the dew
of a heavy rain—
the scent of ozone
lingering still
 
          *
 
a bird cries
somewhere in a nest—
her shattered child
 
          *
 
the gate has opened—
I walk through
looking for salvation
 
          *
 
these are the souls
who wander
the desolate streets—
I search their eyes
they do not see
 
          *
 
in the street
after a heavy rain—
a moment of heat
 
          *
 

from the shore
where I can see it all
as it floats away
 
to some other land
where the sun continues to shine
for centuries
 
and treetops
sway in the wind
filling the grass
with wandering pollen
 
          *
 
worn out
like a flag flown
for many years
 
          *
 
alone here
where your lips once
had left a mark
 
          *
 
once
I looked up
at the stones
and there opened a path
 
into the night
lit by torchlight

A tree top twig
   Beneath the empty sky
I look among
   The world’s connected strings
From a lofty view
   That's twenty stories high
It’s here I see
   The flutters filled with wings
 
This morning’s hush
   As Hudson’s sparkle comes
Around it flows
   With autumn’s remnant leaves
The pigeon sky
   Above the man with crumbs
As they flock around
   And eat his cake like thieves
 
His hands still move
   But nothing now is heard
He made a pledge
   With truth that sounds like lie