Sunday, June 21, 2015

First day of Summer

To commemorate this year's summer solstice I will post two poems about summer - one written by me and another by a poet of the late T'ang written about 1200 years ago:




 
Sitting outside as summer arrives

The sky - a deep azure blue
and not a single cloud in sight

A symphony of birds perform their lovely music
as honeybees dance through cool air

I sit peacefully aware
as thoughts of Heaven and Earth enter my mind

A woodpecker in the distance
wakes me from my daydream

Felix Gervits


The pool behind Ch'i-an

Pond-chestnuts poke through floating chickweed on the green brocade pool:

A thousand summer orioles sing as they play among the roses.

I watch the fine rain, alone all day

While side by side the ducks and drakes bathe in their crimson coats

Tu Mu
(A.C. Graham translation)