JAMES TATE – REAPERS OF THE WATER

Reapers of the Water

The nets newly tarred
and the family arranged
on deck-Mass has started.

The archbishop in
his golden
cope and tall miter, a resplendent

figure against an unwonted background, the darting
silver of water,
green and lavender

of the hyacinths, the slow
movement of occasional
boats. Incense floats

up and about the dripping gray
moss and the sound of the altar bell
rings out. Automatically all who have stayed

on their boats drop to their knees with the others
on shore. The prelate, next taking up his sermon,
recalls that the disciples of Christ were drawn

from the fishermen
of Galilee. Through
the night, at the lake, they cast in vain.

Then He told
them to try once more, and lo!
the nets came heavily loaded…. Now

there will be days when
you, too, will
cast your nets without success-be not

discouraged; His all-seeing eye
will be on you. And in the storm, when

your boat tosses like a thin
leaf, hold firm….
Who knows whose man will be next? Grand’mére

whose face describes how three of hers-
her husband and those two boys-had not returned,
now looks toward

her last son-
it is a matter of time. The prelate dips his gold aspergillum

into the container of holy water
and lifts it high. As the white
and green boats

pass, the drops fall on the scrubbed
decks, on the nets, on the shoulders
of the nearest ones, and they move up

the long waterway.
The crowds watching and waving:
the Sea Dream, the Normandie,

the Barbara Coast, the Little Hot Dog, the God
Bless America
, the Madame of Q.-

racing past the last tendrils
of the warm pudding
that is Louisiana.

~

This poem originally appeared in James Tate’s first collection of poetry entitled The Lost Pilot (Yale University Press, 1967). Here’s a recording of Tate introducing and reading the poem (minute 5:27). In the introduction, Tate says this poem is about the blessing of a shrimp fleet he saw in Thibodeau, Louisiana. Here are some fleet blessings so you can add his intended imagery to the unintentional images that may also be spurred on in your mind by his lines. Long live JAMES TATE!

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Jack D. Harvey – BOMBING VIETNAM

Bombing Vietnam

Good old Joe,
a hell of a pilot you were.
You was my friend,
you was a big child,
all heart, stupid as paint, sure,
but the feel in your talented fingers,
your far-seeing blue eyes;
you and that plane united to kill
every goddamned gook down there
living in that green placid land.

I thought of you,
bombing airstrips, roads,
buildings, villages, factories,
the whole place;
it sickened me and
was I ever up your
big face and down,
looking for tears,
for remorse?

I’m sorry, Joe,
best friend,
I gave you love and respect
with full conveyor belts,
encouraged you
to blow this green land
to hell and gone,
so it’s me and you,
doing a lot of death.

Now you’re dead, too,
burned to a crisp
in your crashed B-52.

He was Joe from Muncie,
a bull’s eye,
a real true soul
who didn’t think much,
an O.K. guy, a
stamper on
American roads,
and now he’s gone.

Read more "Jack D. Harvey – BOMBING VIETNAM"

TRACY BROSCH – OLAN MILLS

Olan Mills

Once I wore a dead girl’s dress;
elastic bands loose on alabaster limbs.
The flash of a bulb captured
a sash of yellow ribbon and
eyes of rainless oceans.

The portrait hung there
submerging memories
of the daughter who came before me.

Her chance to fill the puffy sleeves,
stripped in evening slumber.
A babe drifted into black velvet
lined with stone, wood, and earth.

My Mother’s arms barren;
Daddy’s apple rotting,
leaving never a bite for me.
Still, I ache for the embrace
of her hand-me-down dress
on my skin once more.

A faded photograph,
on a pale yellow wall
is my only connection to
a ghost I call sister.

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AMANDA VAN VEEN – SUNDAY AT VILLAGE INN

Sunday at Village Inn

Sunday morning at Village Inn,

coffee or orange juice? I am asked.

Every time, every day, those two drinks.

What if I want a milkshake for breakfast?

No, that is for dinner with your

chicken, bacon, ranch sandwich and french fries.

Always the same. Each. Time

 

is a constant, or is it

really? The clock always ticks at the same

rate – sixty beats per minute. A

metronome keeping the pace –

the pace of a walker, a jogger, a runner, a marcher?

Trumpets play too quickly, their egos

force it. Flutes play too slowly, their fingers

ache. What are the drums even doing?

 

Marching

at different rates, in different shoes, but still

to the same, old tune. Never

updating the song that plays when

the sports team scores their ball in the endzone

or the pep rally begins with the batons in the air.

Until that day that

 

The band director came.

The one that took the repeating

notes of the sheet music and switched them up.

The one that took that old song,

burned it to ash, then like

The Phoenix,

morphed them into a

New show to bring the audience to their knees.

 

Yet, in the end,

when the trophy is given

and the players celebrate their first place banner,

What do they do?

Have their milkshakes and

chicken, bacon, ranch sandwich with french fries,

at Village Inn, on a Sunday afternoon.

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HONGRI YUAN – GOLDEN GIANT

Golden Giant

Written by Chinese Poet Hongri Yuan

Translated by Yuanbing zhang

 

Who is sitting in the heaven and staring at me?

Who is sitting in the golden palace of tomorrow?

Who is smiling?

The golden staff in his hand

Flashing the dazzling light

Ah, the flashes of lightning

Interweaved over my head

I walked into a crystal corridor of the time

I want to open

The doors of gold

Lines of words in the sun

Singing to me in the sky

I want to find

The volumes of gold poems

On the shores of the new century

To build the city of gold

 

Laozi with rosy cheek and white hair

Smiling at me in the clouds

A phoenix danced trippingly

And carried in a book of gold

 

Lines of mysterious words

Made my eyes drunken

Countless giant figures

Came towards me from the clouds

 

The times of seventy million years

Emerged leisurely before my eyes

The cities of gold

Surrounded with the crystals garden

 

The sky of sapphire

Sent out the colorful miraculous brightness

On the green hills of jasper

Dragons and phoenixes were flying

 

Exquisite pagoda

Majestical palace of gold

The airy pavilions and pagodas

Standing in the purple-red clouds

 

The laughing girls

Riding the colorful husbands and wifes

The propitious clouds

Sprinkling the colorful flowers

 

I opened the door to a golden palace

Saw the rows of scrolls of the gold

A giant with the haloes all over his body

There were a golden sun over his head

 

With smiles, he picked up the books of gold

Recited the sacred verses

I was intoxicated with miraculous wonderful words

Surrounded with the purple-gold flames all over his body

 

A golden lotus

Bloomed beneath my feet

Lifted up my body

Wafted up from the golden palace

 

The red clouds

Drifting by my side

Outside of the sky I saw

Another golden paradise

 

The leisurely bells

Calling to me

The countless giants

Roaming in a golden garden

 

The sky of the ruby

The rounds of sun

Like the golden lotus

Blooming in the sky

 

The intoxicating fragrance of flowers

Like the sweet good wine

The golden trees

Were laden with the dazzling diamonds

 

The wonderful flowers

Bloomed for the thousands of years

The land of gold

Inlaid with the gems

 

The pavilions of gold

Strewn at random and overlapped

Someone was playing chess

Someone was chatting

 

Quaint clothes

Colossal statures

Miraculous eyes

Happy and comfortable

 

The white cranes

Flying in the sky

The husbands and wives

Crowing leisurely

 

Beside the old man I came

As if he was waiting for me

On the golden pavilion

He opened an ancient sword casket

 

A glittering ancient sword

Engraved some abstruse words and expressions

Which were clear and transparent like a lightning

Dimly glowed purplish-red patterns

 

He told me a metaphysical epic

The sword came from nine billions years ago

Which, was made from hundreds of millions of suns

It was a sacred sword of the sun

 

It could pierce the rocks of time

Open the layer after layer skies

Let the sacred fire smelt the heaven and the earth

Into the golden paradises

 

The old man’s eyes were deep, archaic and abstruse

Dimly shone the joyful flames

He let me take this sword

To fly towards a new golden paradise

 

The huge golden lotus floated leisurely

I flew over the sky thousands of miles away

The huge pyramids

Loomed impressively in front of my eyes

 

The mountainous figure of giants

Walked about in front of the pyramid

The huge pyramids of gold

Were much taller than the mountains

 

The giant trees of gold

Like a forest

Stood in the sky

Laden with the stars

 

The multicolored propitious clouds

Was a huge bird

In the silvery sky

Crowing joyfully

 

I came to the front of a pyramid

A door was opening wide to me

A group of blond giants

Sitting with smiles in the grand palace

 

A holy great old man

Reciting the singular language in his mouth

The temple was painted with the magical symbols

And the giant pictures of Gods

 

The palace was full of silvery white light

Blooming the huge wonderful flowers

A peal of wonderful mellifluous bells

Made the person suddenly forget all of the time

 

I heard an immemorial verse

It was written hundreds of millions of years ago

Related countless eras of giants

Created the holy kingdoms of heaven

 

Their wisdom was sacred and great

Knew completely the past and the future of the universe

They flew freely in the sky

Landed on the millions of planets in the universe

 

They made the time change as your pleasure

Which could reach another spaces

Make a stone turn into a gold

Make the gold bloom flowers

 

They were like the rounds sun

Which could erupt the sacred flames

Let all things blaze in raging flames

Turn into their imagination works

 

They landed on the planets

Established the golden paradises

With their magic abstruse wisdom

Built the platinum cities

 

I saw the gorgeous words

Flashing in the volume of gold

And the magical wonderful halos

Rotating like the colored lightning in the sky

 

I came to another wonderful heaven and earth

And saw a huge edifice of platinum

The whole city was like a piece of work

Sending out quietly the brilliant white light

 

A huge round square

Chased some unearthly works

The giants of great stature

Came and went leisurely in the street

 

They wore singular clothes

Shone all over their bodies

With smiles on their face

Both men and women looked beautiful

 

They spoke the wonderful language

Which was as intriguing and pleasant as the music

Some of them run by spaceship

Flying around silently in the sky

 

I walked into a huge edifice of platinum

Saw a magnificent hall

Platinum wall was inlaid with gems

And there were also a row of unusual instruments

 

Their eyes were like bright springs

Wore the multicolored clothes

Some of them were operating instruments there

Some of them were talking with each other softly there

 

I saw a magical picture

Drew the giant planets

Stood the cities on those planets

And there were also the crystal gardens

 

I opened a crystal door

Saw a group of happy men and women

They were singing softly

The blinking books of gold were in their hands

 

Both the clusters of flower and the glasses of golden wine

Were on the huge round table

The golden walls were sparkling

Carved with all kinds of wonderful pictures

 

I saw a demure girl

The golden halo was sparkling on her head

She dressed a purple-gold longuette

Which was as peerless as a sculpture

 

The pages were marked with whimsical words

Like lines of ancient magic symbols

Each book was made of gold

And it was also like a golden crystal

 

I understood their euphonious songs

They were singing the sacred love

They were singing great ancestors

They were recounting the civilization of the universe

 

Their city was garden everywhere

Surrounded with the sweet rivers

The whole earth was a piece of jade

And the clay was a layer of transparent sand of the gold

 

I saw some white-bright huge balls

Suspended high above the city

The giant balls were sending out dazzling light

Shone the heaven and the earth as bright as the crystal

 

The towering great buildings stood in great numbers

As if they were carved by a whole piece of platinum

Both the doves and some colorful birds

Were flying in the sky

 

I saw a singular train

Flying swiftly forward in the sky

The streets were white and bright

And any moving vehicle could not been seen

 

Their bodies were unusually strong

Playing a wonderful game

They piled up the pieces of great stones

Into some grotesque works

 

Both like some giant eyes

And some ancient totems

There were also some strange birds

Covered with lightning feathers all over their bodies

 

I saw a couple of tall lovers

They aviated a spaceship

Their eyes were quiet and bright

Shone colorful halo around their bodies

 

The wonderful space was gyrating leisurely

Like a huge, resplendent crystal

I said goodbye to the unusual city

Towards a space of golden light

 

The cities flashed in the sky

I flew over the layers of the sky again

And I saw a newfangled world

The multicolored city of crystal

The high towers were exquisitely carved

 

Shone the multicolored pearls

The layers of eave were painted with dragon and phoenix

Hung the singing golden bells

The earth was a crystal garden

 

The palaces were limpid and crystal

Huge mountains were like a transparent gem

Lined with the golden trees

I saw the tall giants

 

Wore the purple clothes

There were a round sun on their heads

The body also shone a layer of halo

They sat up in the main halls

 

Singing a mellifluous song

Some were roaming leisurely in the garden

Some were summoning the birds in the sky

The crystalline airy pavilions and pagodas

 

Were beset with jewels and agates

A huge jewel on the spire

Shining the golden lights

I saw a holy giant

 

Sitting in the middle of a main hall

The purple-gold flame were flashed around his body

And filled with the whole majestic main hall

Full-bodied fragrance filled the hall

 

Like a cup of refreshing wine

Solemn expression was merciful and joyful

A huge book was on his hand

The hall was full of men and women

 

Listening quietly to the psalms of the saints

The lotuses were floating in the sky

Where the smiling giants sat

The golden light were poured down from the sky

 

Bathed in the whole crystal kingdom

Those jewels above the giant towers

Were just the golden suns

The golden walls of a golden tower

 

Were carved with lines of flashing words I saw

Flying around the dragons and phoenixes

As if they were intonating the inspiring poems

The smiling giants in the sky

 

A huge halo were also flashing around their bodies

Each of them was both dignified and tranquil

Floating in the golden transparent sky

I flew over the crystal kingdom

 

And saw the vast golden mountain in the distance

Sending out the brilliant lights in the sky

Where the propitious clouds were blossoming

That was a golden giant

 

Sitting in the golden transparent sky

His body was composed of thousands of millions of constellations

The golden sun was rotating on his forehead

He lit up the whole marvelous universe

 

The kingdoms of heaven shone in the sky

Here there was no the sky and the earth

The up-down four-direction were the lights of pure gold

The smiling giants were sitting

 

On the gold-engraved pavilions

The pavilions levitated in the transparent sky

Shining the layers of purple-gold light

The multicolored transparent mountains

 

As if the propitious clouds were floating in the sky

The large wonderful flowers were blooming in the mountain peaks

And there were also trees of light

A river flowed from the sky

 

And the river bottom reflected a layer of golden sand

Some strange and beautiful birds and the beasts

Also were like some aerial phantoms

This was a world of light

 

Everything was made of light

The divine light formed all things

And the golden paradises

The golden giant I saw

 

Shining the kingdoms of heaven in his body

I saw the cities of gold

Which were brilliant and fascinating in his bones

I saw lines of extremely large words

 

Arranged into a huge book in the sky

It seemed as if they were the bright stars

Constituted a wonderful drawing

There was a golden pavilion in the sky

 

Flying around with huge dragons and phoenixes

An old man with the whisk

Waved to me and smiled in the pavilion

I seem to be attracted by magical attraction

 

Leisurely came to his side

He told me the golden giant

Was namely my great ancestor

This was an eternal palace

 

There’s noso-called time

Holy light was exactly the God

What I saw was better than the heaven

He pointed to the huge book in the sky

 

And told me that was the mystery of the universe

The book contained magical wisdom

Created the countless worlds of gold

He pointed to a pagoda in the sky

 

Told me that was the temple of words

The light turned into the sacred words

And the words created the time of gold

He held up a very large pearl

 

In which flashed the pictures

He told me that it was the future time

That was all of the wonderful worlds

He told me that it was another universe

 

I still want to go to the paradises

He gave me the magical pearl

Let it be my future guide

I said goodbye to the holy old man

 

I set foot on a new road of the heaven again

I sat in a golden pavilion

Lightly flew to the distant outer space

 

~

2.9.1998

 

黄金巨人

远红日

谁 坐在天上向我凝望

谁 坐在明天的黄金殿堂

谁 微笑着

手中的金杖

闪出耀眼的光芒

一道道闪电啊

在我头顶上交织

我走进了一座

时间的水晶长廊

我要打开

一扇扇黄金的大门

一行行太阳的词语

在空中向我歌唱

我要找到

那一部部黄金的诗卷

在新世纪的海岸

把黄金之城建造

白发红颜的老子

在云端向我微笑

一只翩翩的凤凰

衔来了一部金书

一行行玄妙的词语

迷醉了我的眼睛

一个个巨人的身影

从云中向我走来

七千万年的时光

在眼前悠悠浮现

一座座黄金的城市

簇拥着水晶的花园

蓝宝石的天空

闪出七彩的灵光

一座座碧玉的青山

飞翔着龙和凤凰

玲珑的宝塔

宏伟的金殿

一座座亭台楼阁

矗立紫红的云间

欢笑的少女

跨着七彩的鸾凤

一朵朵祥云

洒下缤纷的花朵

我打开一座金殿的大门

看到一排排黄金的书卷

一个周身光环的巨人

头顶一轮金色的太阳

他微笑着拿起一部部金书

朗诵了一首首神圣的诗篇

我陶醉于神奇美妙的词语

周身环绕起紫金的火焰

一朵金莲

在我脚下盛开

托起我的身体

飘出了金殿

一朵朵红云

在我身边飘过

我看到了天外

又一座黄金乐园

悠悠的钟声

向我召唤

一个个巨人

漫步在黄金花园

红宝石的天空

一轮轮太阳

像一朵朵金莲

开放在天上

醉人的花香

像甘醇的美酒

一棵棵黄金树

结满耀眼的钻石

一朵朵奇葩

盛开了千年

黄金的土地

嵌满了宝石

黄金的楼台

错落重叠

有人在对弈

有人在闲谈

古雅的衣裳

巨大的身材

神奇的眸子

欢喜自在

一只只白鹤

飞翔空中

一只只鸾凤

悠然啼鸣

我来到了一位老者身旁

他仿佛正在把我等待

在那黄金的楼阁之上

他打开了一只古老的剑匣

一柄闪闪发光的古剑

镌刻一些玄古的词语

清澈透明像一道闪电

隐隐泛出紫红的花纹

他告诉我一部玄奥的史诗

这柄剑来自九亿万年

亿万颗太阳把它炼成

它是一把太阳的神剑

他能穿透时间的岩石

打开一层又一层云天

让神圣之火熔炼天地

化成一座座黄金乐园

老者的双眸古奥深沉

隐隐闪耀欢喜的光焰

他让我带上这把神剑

飞向新的黄金乐园

巨大的金莲悠悠飘荡

我又飞过了万里云天

一座座巨大的金字塔

赫然出现在我的眼前

山岳般的巨人

在塔前走动

那黄金的巨塔

比山岳更高大

黄金的巨树

像一座森林

矗立在空中

结满了星辰

五彩的祥云

是巨大的鸟儿

在白银的天空

欢喜地啼鸣

我来到了一座金塔之前

一扇大门向我敞开

一群金发碧眼的巨人

微笑着坐在宏大的殿堂

一位神圣巨大的老者

口中念诵奇特的语言

这圣殿画满了神奇的符号

还有一幅幅巨大的神像

殿内充满银白的光明

盛开一朵朵巨大的古葩

一阵阵奇妙动听的钟声

让人把时间顿然全忘

我听到了一部远古的诗篇

它们写自亿万年前

讲述一个个巨人时代

创造了一个个圣洁的天国

他们的智慧神圣伟大

洞明宇宙的过去未来

他们在空中自由飞行

登上宇宙的亿万星球

他们让时间随心变化

可以通达另外的空间

让一块石头化成黄金

让黄金盛开朵朵鲜花

他们像是一轮轮太阳

可以喷发神圣的火焰

让火焰熊熊燃烧万物

化成他们想象的作品

他们登上一颗颗星球

创建了一座座黄金乐园

用那神奇古奥的智慧

建起了一座座白金城市

我看见一个个华丽的词语

在黄金的书卷上闪过

一团团神奇美妙的光环

在空中旋转像彩色的闪电

我来到另一个奇妙的天地

看到一座白金的巨厦

整个城市像一幅作品

静静地发出灿烂的白光

一座巨大的圆形广场

雕塑着一些奇异的作品

一个个身形高大的巨人

在街上悠然地来来去去

他们穿着奇特的服装

全身上下闪闪发光

他们脸上都含着微笑

男男女女都容貌姣好

他们说着奇妙的语言

像音乐一般迷人动听

他们有的乘着飞船

在天空无声地飞去飞来

我走进一座白金的巨厦

看到一座华丽的大厅

白金的墙壁镶嵌宝石

还有一排奇异的仪器

他们的眼睛像明亮的甘泉

穿着五光十色的衣裳

有的在那儿操纵仪器

有的在那儿轻声交谈

我看到一幅神奇的画儿

画着一颗颗巨大的星球

星球上矗立一座座城市

还有一座座水晶的花园

我打开一座水晶的大门

看到一群快乐的男女

他们轻声地唱着歌儿

手中一部部闪光的金书

巨大的圆桌上一簇簇鲜花

还有一杯杯金色的美酒

黄金的四壁闪闪发光

雕刻着各种奇妙的画图

我看到一位端庄的少女

她头上闪耀金色的光环

她穿着一件紫金的长裙

像一座雕塑美妙绝伦

书页上镌刻着古怪的词语

像一行行古老神奇的符号

每一本书都由黄金制成

又像是一块金色的水晶

我听懂了他们悦耳的歌声

他们在唱着神圣的爱情

他们在咏歌伟大的祖先

他们在述说宇宙的文明

他们的城市处处是花园

环绕一条条甘美的河流

整个大地是一块玉石

泥土是一层透明的金沙

我看到一些白亮的巨球

高高地悬浮在城市上空

那巨球发出耀眼的光明

把天地照得明亮如水晶

一座座高耸林立的巨厦

仿佛一整块白金雕成

空中飞翔着一只只鸽子

还有一些七彩的鸟儿

我看到一种奇特的列车

在空中神速地向前飞驰

一条条大街洁白明亮

看不见任何行驶的车辆

他们的身体异常强壮

做着一种奇妙的游戏

他们叠起一块块巨石

化成一些怪异的作品

仿佛一些巨大的眼睛

又像是一些古老的图腾

还有一些奇怪的飞鸟

浑身长满闪电的羽毛

我看到一对高大的恋人

他们乘着一只飞船

他们的目光宁静明亮

周身闪出七彩的光环

美妙的太空悠悠旋转

像一座巨大璀璨的水晶

我告别这座奇异的城市

奔向了一片金色的光明

一座座城市从空中闪过

我又飞过了一层层云天

我看到一个新奇的世界

五光十色的水晶之城

一座座高塔玲珑剔透

闪耀一颗颗五彩的明珠

一层层飞檐画满了龙凤

悬挂着一只只歌唱的金玲

大地是一座水晶的花园

一座座宫殿明澈晶莹

巨大的山峰像透明的宝石

林立着一棵棵金色的树木

我看到一个个高大的巨人

穿着一件件紫红的衣裳

他们头上都有一轮太阳

身体也闪耀一层层光环

他们端坐在一座座大殿

唱着一种动听的歌曲

有的在花园里悠悠漫步

有的在召唤空中的飞鸟

一座座水晶的亭台楼阁

镶嵌着宝石和玛瑙

那塔尖上一颗巨大的明珠

闪耀出一道道金色的光明

我看到一位神圣的巨人

坐在一座大殿的中央

他身上闪放紫金的火焰

充满了整座宏伟的大殿

浓郁的芳香飘满殿堂

像一杯沁人肺腑的美酒

庄严的表情慈悲欢喜

手上托着一部巨书

殿内坐满了男男女女

静静聆听圣者的诗篇

一朵朵莲花在天空漂浮

端坐一个个微笑的巨人

金色的光明从天空洒下

沐浴着整个水晶王国

那一座座巨塔之上的明珠

就是一轮轮金色的太阳

我看到一行行闪光的词语

刻满了一座金塔的金壁

周围环飞着一只只龙凤

仿佛在吟唱动人的诗篇

那空中微笑的一个个巨人

身体也闪放巨大的光环

他们一个个端庄宁静

漂浮在金色透明的天空

我飞越了这座水晶王国

看到了远方巨大的金山

在天空发出夺目的光芒

周围有一朵朵祥云绽放

那是一个金色的巨人

端坐在金色透明的天空

他的身体是亿万个星座

额头旋转着金色的太阳

他照亮了整个奇妙的宇宙

一座座天国闪耀空中

在这儿没有天空与大地

上下四方是纯金的光明

一座座黄金镌雕的楼阁

端坐一个个微笑的巨人

那楼阁悬浮透明的空中

闪耀一层层紫金的光明

一座座五彩透明的山峰

像一朵朵祥云漂浮天上

山峰上盛开巨大的奇葩

还有一颗颗光芒的树木

一条河流从空中流过

河底闪映出一层金沙

一些奇丽的飞禽走兽

也像是一些空中幻影

这是一个光的世界

一切都有光芒形成

神圣的光芒形成万物

和一座座黄金乐园

我看到的那个金色的巨人

体内闪耀一个个天国

我看到一座座黄金之城

在他的骨骼中灿烂迷人

我看到一行行巨形的词语

在天空排列成一部巨书

仿佛一颗颗明亮的星辰

构成了一个奇妙的画图

天空中一座黄金的楼阁

环飞一只只巨大的龙凤

一位手持拂尘的老者

在楼阁内向我招手微笑

我仿佛受到神奇的引力

悠然来到了他的身边

他告诉我那位金色的巨人

就是我的伟大的祖先

这是一座永恒的殿堂

在这儿没有所谓的时间

圣洁的光芒就是上帝

我看到的一切胜过天堂

他指着天空的那部巨书

告诉我那是宇宙的奥秘

那书中蕴含神奇的智慧

创造一个个黄金的世界

他指着天空的一座宝塔

告诉我那是词语的圣殿

光芒化成了神圣的词语

词语创造了黄金的时间

他托起一颗硕大的明珠

里面闪映一幅幅画图

他告诉我这是未来的时间

都是一个个奇妙的世界

他告诉我这是另一个宇宙

我还要去那一座座乐园

他送给我这颗神奇的明珠

让它做我未来的导游

我告别这位神圣的老人

我又踏上一条新的天路

我坐上一座黄金的楼阁

飘飘飞向了遥远的天外

1998.2.9于北京

1998.2.11抄改

Read more "HONGRI YUAN – GOLDEN GIANT"

Michael H. Brownstein – A VALLEY CAN ALSO BECOME A DEPRESSED STATE OF MIND

A VALLEY CAN ALSO BECOME A DEPRESSED STATE OF MIND 

Everything you wear,
you wear to its grave,
your gray stockings\
a small hole near the big toe,
its color an undistinguished gray
your shirt with a stain
your pants frayed at the bottom,
a rip in one pocket,
change falling freely
creating melodies you are always
too busy to hear.

Read more "Michael H. Brownstein – A VALLEY CAN ALSO BECOME A DEPRESSED STATE OF MIND"

Robert Allen Beckvall – Complete Freedom

Complete Freedom

No past lurking like a phantom

The future?  Not tricking me today into possibles and impossibles

All untrue, untrue

The caffeine I am weaned

Booze, a distant memory of last weekend’s 3 pints

Gordon Biersch with a Chicago teacher

Aches and pains from my beloved sport?

Not a knee, ankle, wrist, back, Achilles, shoulder, or calf

No Advil in sight

Worry about the wife and kid-no way!

They more likely to worry about me…the Chinese Queen and Princess

Arizona clan?  They got their pine breezes, lakes, and Trader Joe’s

Worried about living on an island?

Teaching and coaching?

Writing in the mornings?

You see, I would have to make up some ills and blackness

Like an actor

Why?  When real life is so sweet, and the freedom you can taste

Read more "Robert Allen Beckvall – Complete Freedom"

99 PROBLEMS – by 47 teenagers and 1 teacher in Southern New Mexico

99 Problems

  1. homophobic parents
  2. I had to give my dog, Monster, away, we had him for 5 years, I had to give him away because he’s a pit bull and our new apartment is racist against pits.
  3. bullying–girls tearing girls down, why can’t girls build girls up?
  4. low grades, you got to make them high grades, that’s a problem
  5. always tired
  6. anxiety
  7. anxiety
  8. people underestimating just how overwhelmed I am
  9. I don’t know
  10. you scared me
  11. trouble with communication
  12. family and school
  13. soap collapses like egg whites when you beat at it for too long
  14. Bev Courtney
  15. Bev Courtney doesn’t think she’s a problem and that’s a problem
  16. no left over pasta
  17. leaky shower
  18. squishy floor
  19. I’m too moody, maybe it’s because of the damn squishy floor
  20. not having a raincoat when it’s raining
  21. not having an umbrella when it’s raining
  22. only having Old Navy stupid sandals when it’s raining
  23. when your taking your long, beautiful time in the shower and the water suddenly gets cold
  24. a teacher trying to put problems in student’s mouths
  25. moving to a new school
  26. my coach says we can’t throw cheerleaders in the air
  27. Deanna says that’s not really a problem
  28. Deanna says everybody’s gonna know the cheerleading problem is hers because Cesar A’s the only other athlete in here, and football players don’t throw people in the air a ton
  29. If you clench wads of toilet paper in your fists while you’re hiking, you’ll leave little tissue trails like so many scattered breadcrumbs across the forest floor
  30. my sister’s wet the bed
  31. this 2 dollar food is too delicious and it’s making me fat
  32. taking notes everyday is bad for my carpal tunnel
  33. notes, what notes? we were supposed to take notes?
  34. when you miss one day of school and you go from an A to a F and your teachers don’t give you time to make it up
  35. everyone on Varsity wants to be a star player all by themselves
  36. everybody’s looking at MaxPreps instead of the scoreboard
  37. Oñate has 3 really good teams, Freshman, JV, Varsity but we just stink in games
  38. too many books, too little time said one girl out of 4065 girls
  39. the fact that women are afraid to walk alone
  40. men who make us feel that way
  41. the senators and congressmen who think all the rape victims are lying
  42. the senators and congressmen who think how dare this woman drag a man’s name through the mud
  43. the hundreds of thousands of rape kits sitting in a police station closet that never get processed
  44. the children who go to bed hungry because our country can’t get its shit together to care about all the people here
  45. just violence
  46. the ginger teacher in training says, what isn’t a problem?
  47. hi, welcome to Chili’s
  48. people don’t work together
  49. Waluigi not in Smash
  50. love
  51. people who have problems when other people objectify themselves
  52. My Chemical Romance broke up
  53. Justin Bieber
  54. nothin’s true
  55. I asked Nate what a problem was and he looked at me like a tired boulder and Joseph C, his neighbor, said people
  56. overplayed pop songs
  57. the school smells like fish
  58. the school smells like Joe’s Crab Shack on the 5th of July, after hours, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
  59. North Korea
  60. guinea pigs, I had 3 guinea pigs, one died and the other 2 ate him and then the other 2 died from eating his poisonous guinea pig meat, true story
  61. relationships
  62. lack of responsibility
  63. hypocrisy
  64. feelings
  65. grandma forcing me to eat more
  66. puberty
  67. puberty some more
  68. still puberty
  69. mumble rappers
  70. going to school all damn early
  71. hitting your small toe against something
  72. hand stuck in a pickle jar
  73. there’s no more marching band
  74. not having the liberty to go out with friends
  75. waiting until December to celebrate Christmas
  76. waiting until October to celebrate Christmas
  77. dad jokes you can find when you search “dad jokes” on Google
  78. educated people are hot because they have more degrees
  79. did you hear about the kidnapping, don’t worry he woke up
  80. weed laws
  81. white women pulling their kids closer when someone of color walks by
  82. poverty
  83. people in poverty when they say they chose to live this way
  84. small toilets
  85. losing course credit after 5 unexcused absences
  86. bubble gum that tastes like Pepto
  87. I asked Juan for a problem and he just smiled at me with these sweet brown eyes and shook his head, it’s like he doesn’t have any problems on the tip of his tongue, it’s almost like he’s the buddha on top of A Mountain, it’s like he doesn’t have a single issue reverberating from his vocal chords, and I guess that’s a problem, I’m the teacher and I told the students to tell me a problem and dammit, Juan should have a problem and he should have it quick, I’ll flunk him
  88. teachers who flunk Juan because he doesn’t have a problem
  89. teachers who use grades against kids like a piano wire cold around their necks, just barely pressing into their skin
  90. my daughter was crying hysterically over something stupid and I told her, I’ll give you something to cry about, and she said, I already have something to cry about
  91. maybe that’s a problem
  92. the church choir that couldn’t hit the highest notes, the most heavenly notes  
  93. Maria G says, you’re in my seat
  94. I say, why are you late
  95. she says, flu shot
  96. everybody knows if you got the flu shot, the flu’s not a problem
  97. the white lady that says, can I talk to your manager?
  98. stepping in water while you have socks on
  99. talking about problems on Lemon Haze

99 PROBLEMS – by 47 teenagers and 1 teacher in Southern New Mexico

Read more "99 PROBLEMS – by 47 teenagers and 1 teacher in Southern New Mexico"

Michael Lee Johnson – Leonard Cohen My Friend

Leonard Cohen My Friend 

 

Death is a bitch and a whore

comes with hat on or off,

Jewish, Christian or lover years ago called Nancy.

Death is a passport, a left behind baggage note.

My leverage sinks, I see you pass human.

These my fears, your fright, being broke, old-royalties stole Suzanne.

Now branches, extended limbs, point outward nowhere-

doors Montreal collapse tomb, dance with me,

end perfume love, a few dead flowers.

 

Read more "Michael Lee Johnson – Leonard Cohen My Friend"

GARY BECK – ROTTING SYSTEM

Rotting System

Politicians fulminate
in the run for office
condemning opponents
for dishonesty,
lack of a plan
to help the country,
spending billions
to get elected,
forget campaign promises
until reelection time,
serve those who funded them,
ignore needs of the people,
unless it suits their masters,
always present themselves
as loyal Americans
serving the nation,
although we do not know
who owns their loyalty.

Read more "GARY BECK – ROTTING SYSTEM"