Trailing my stick I go down to the garden edge,
call to a monk to go out the pine gate.
A cup of tea with my mother,
looking at each other, enjoying our tea together.
In the deep lanes, few people in sight;
the dog barks when anyone comes or goes.
Fall floods have washed away the planks of the bridge;
shouldering our sandals, we wade the narrow stream.
By the roadside, a small pavilion
where there used to be a little hill:
it helps out our hermit mood;
country poems pile one sheet on another.
I dabble at the flow, delighted by the shallowness of the stream,
gaze at the flagging, admiring how firm the stones are.
The point in life it to know what's enough—
why envy those otherworld immortals?
With the happiness held in one inch-square heart
you can fill the whole space between heaven and earth.
Gensei (1623-1668), translated by Burton Watson
(from the book The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry edited by Stephen Mitchell)
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I have been reading the poem Revolutionary Dreams by Nikki Giovanni over and over for the last few months (it is from the book The Women and The Men). And as I read it, I wished I could hear Ms. Giovanni read it out loud to the world. I decided to see if she has a website, and she does. If you click over to it and then go down to multimedia, you can hear her read a few of her poems. You too can attend a poetry reading from your own bed, still in your pajamas, with your laptop on your lap.
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Happy Thursday everyone!
If you have shared a poem on your blog today, please leave a comment so people can find your blog. (And if you want to be added to the list of regular participants, please email me.) Thank you for sharing poetry...
Blessings to you all.
