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Post by spindrift on Feb 26, 2009 14:01:04 GMT
'A well-known Japanese poet was asked how to compose a Chinese poem.
'The usual Chinese poem is four lines,' he explained. 'The first line contains the initial phrase; the second line, the continuation of that phrase; the third line turns from this subject and begins a new one; and the fourth line brings the first three lines together. A popular Japanese song illustrates this:
Two daughters of a silk merchant live in Kyoto
The elder is twenty, the younger, eighteen.
A soldier may kill with his sword,
But these girls slay men with their eyes.'
Zen Flesh, Zen Bones
Can anyone compose a poem in this style? Shall we have a go at it?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2009 14:15:42 GMT
A day at the office can be very long,
Especially when papers fill my desk.
Birds sing in the treetops,
Oblivious that their perches will become my papers.
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Post by spindrift on Feb 26, 2009 16:08:12 GMT
Oh, I'm SO impressed. Excellent!
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Post by spindrift on Feb 26, 2009 16:16:46 GMT
Camellias herald the approach of spring
White, pink and red next to vivid green
The bride plans to wed her lover
Forever portrayed with bountiful blossoms.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2009 8:24:59 GMT
In the corridors of the nursing home
An old woman searches endlessly.
A little boy disappeared long ago.
My mother can still see him deep in my eyes.
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Post by gyro on Feb 27, 2009 8:32:27 GMT
I can't read
And I can't write
But I can drive my tractor
So I don't care.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2009 9:59:21 GMT
Who are these Chinese
With so much time for idle culture?
Miners break rocks in deep tunnels.
Are they looking for a vein of poetry?
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Post by spindrift on Feb 27, 2009 12:37:25 GMT
Kerouac...you excel yourself...I'm enjoying this.
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Post by spindrift on Feb 27, 2009 12:41:42 GMT
On a council estate in Glasgow
A couple ponder their options
A rich old man far south
Never imagines he'll be their target.
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Post by spindrift on Feb 27, 2009 12:45:33 GMT
Greed distorts the couples' view
They bring about the end of old friendships
The old man faces a lonely end
But will the fat lady laugh last?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2009 19:48:04 GMT
It's amazing how people here
seem afraid to give it a try.
In certain places there are awards.
Is not gentle appreciation enough?
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 27, 2009 19:58:21 GMT
Reading talented efforts is rewarding,
but it intimidates my feeble impulse to create.
That was not the poets' intention.
I should have more confidence.
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Post by spindrift on Feb 27, 2009 21:53:25 GMT
Six line silly poems are not enough
Chinese heritage we must copy
Dispersed around the world we are
Composing brings us nearer each other.
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Post by lola on Feb 27, 2009 23:17:19 GMT
Moonlight shines through my window:
Cool reflected light, lonely and distant.
Even now, steam rises from your morning coffee,
Sunshine, not reflected, warms your face.
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Post by lola on Feb 27, 2009 23:38:16 GMT
We lie on a blanket near the bamboo grove,
Drinking wine, watching each other laugh.
Tonight a cold front brings wind and snow:
How quickly, sometimes, our pleasures leave!
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Post by lola on Feb 28, 2009 0:30:37 GMT
I furrow my brow, pull my hair, bite my lip.
Inspiration continues to elude me.
In China, a sage picks up his pen;
He'll have to write poems for both of us.
(Say, this is fun.)
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 28, 2009 1:33:36 GMT
Bixa watches in dismay, as sages three,
Spindrift, Kerouac, and Lola spill forth pearls.
The worm in Cain's breast gnaws at hers.
Ha, she thinks, I'll just be funnier!
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Post by lola on Feb 28, 2009 1:45:09 GMT
Ha!
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Post by gyro on Feb 28, 2009 9:28:10 GMT
It's easy to write the first line
And compliment it with the second
But the third is pretty tricky
And you just end up sounding pretentious
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2009 10:47:30 GMT
Sleep evades me this night
turns to dawn and I linger
Watchful the cat still slumbers
Awaiting her milk as I rise
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2009 15:13:11 GMT
A jolly man with a keg
lifts his glass in a toast.
Gyro loves irony.
What if the keg is empty?
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Post by spindrift on Feb 28, 2009 16:14:37 GMT
So much brilliance on here.
(mine about the old man is true)...
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Post by spindrift on Feb 28, 2009 16:29:09 GMT
Facing my life I try to see reality
Myriad thoughts in my tired brain
Spring buds force through cold earth
All mankind suffers thus
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Post by spindrift on Feb 28, 2009 16:32:06 GMT
In the depth of moonless nights
I call on deities for succour
In spring cranes fly southwards
Ushering in hope and reasons to live
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Post by gyro on Feb 28, 2009 19:36:13 GMT
I move forward
Having no regard for back
When I am faced by a closed door
I realise my keg is always half full.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2009 21:00:44 GMT
The sun was generous today
and it was a nice way to end the month.
March rears its ugly head tomorrow.
Sunshine can become sleet in an instant.
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Post by gyro on Feb 28, 2009 23:10:57 GMT
Your keg seems half empty to me ...........
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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2009 14:42:34 GMT
A light balmy breeze
Winged creatures migrate North
The March lion roars in
Will the birds stay on course?
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Post by spindrift on Mar 1, 2009 19:17:40 GMT
Attempting to cross the ocean of life
Beset by storms, waves and strife
Baby born, lovingly held
The tempest quelled till the age of reason
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Post by gyro on Mar 1, 2009 20:03:41 GMT
Roses are red
Violets are blue
Surrealism confuses me
The Fish.
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