H2o

[xlwoo]

When the scorching sun's high at noon,
I run from here to there,
From east to west, north to south,
Through the fields, over the ditches,
Up the slope, over the summit,
Down the hill, to the valley,
Into the woods, through the glade,
Not in search of ores, nor of gems,
Neither of buried treasures,
Which everyone seeks,
But of the element--H2O;
Not to quench my thirst,
Nor to wash my hands or face,
But to water a withering rose,
Lonely and deserted in a nook.

[xlwoo]

The Titanic! The gigantic steamer!
The luxury of the world!
Is She the pride of modern technique?
Or the shame of all the helmsmen?
How many lives She brought down in the icy water?
How much wealth She sank in the depth of ocean?
How many tears were shed for Her?
How many books were written on Her?
What if no iceberg floated there?
What if She didn't sink on that fatal night?
What if happiness didn't turn into mourning?
What if She completed Her maiden voyage?
Were She still sailing the blue seas,
From the Atlantic to the Pacific?
Or be replaced by a more modern liner?
And turned into a floating museum on display?
Would that Time flows back, and nothing happened!
I would like to see what She is today!

[xlwoo]

I'm driving on Highway I-95,
On a long journey to south and sea.
I start from the Garden State,
All the way down to Florida.
I seem traveling on a gossamer
Of the national highway cobweb
Woven by a giant spider
All over the United States of America.
The great artificial structure
Is the world's ninth wonder.
I enjoy the view of verdure
On either side of the thread--
The line on the face of the Earth,
The artery of the transportation.
I enjoy the happy high speed,
Of course at the speed limit(!).
Who wants to get into trouble
With the interstate police,
That will spoil the traveling ecstasy,
And cost extra expenses?
I enjoy driving on highways
For thousands of smooth miles
Without hindrance of traffic lights
Till reaching the goal of my life!

[xlwoo]

Oh, H2O

Oh, H2O! My dear H2O!
My most favorite element.
You fill in my swimming pool,
So clear and translucent.
You hold me in your embrace,
When I jump down to dive.
I feel your arms around me,
Caressing my skin gently, ever so gently.
Then I sense myself soaring to the surface,
As you give me a light push of buoyancy.
Then I find myself lying on top of you,
As I'm floating in slow supine strokes.
Then I twist prone on my belly
And swim hastily to the "shore".
Oh, sorry, my dear element,
For my kicks at your bosom.
I must get out of you
As fast as possible,
Since there's a call for me
From my dearest fiancee.

[xlwoo]

Muse At Washington's Headquarters

I seem to hear the thundering of the cannons
From two hundred years ago.
I seem to see the array of the soldiers
Marching to attack Her Majesty's armies.
I seem to hearken the rolls of the drums.
I seem to behold the unfurling of the banners.
All is for the Independence,
For freedom and for democracy!
I recall the Solemn vow:
"Give me liberty, or give me death!"
So America's born and lives.
The tradition prevails.
If every people under the tyranny
Either of feudalism or of communism
Can be up and roar:
"Give me liberty, or give me death!"
Then we will have the world peace----
The peace we desire so long!
Oh, God, I pray Thee:
Let the spirit of America
Inspire peoples in the world!

[xlwoo]

A Little Brook

A little brook tumbles down the mountain.
A narrow footpath snakes beside it,
Which I follow, treading on the steps.
The brook's so clear, so cool;
Sometimes it flows smooth.
So I take off my shoes
And dip my feet in the water.
Oh, so delicious on the hot day,
Like eating some ice-cream.
I wish I could turn into a fish
And swim in that lucid stream!
I wish I could turn into a stone
That lies on the bottom
And let the cool current rush over me
And make me intoxicated
Like drinking champagne!

[xlwoo]

The Amish Village

It is the oasis in a civil desert
That's polluted with modern science.
No side-effect, when without electricity,
No electromagnetic fields
To the micro-field of the human body.
Coaches drawn by lovely horses mean
No pollution of car exhausts.
What's so good of modern civilization
That brings mankind
To the brink of self-destruction?
Does the modern civilization
Make people more civil and polite?
How should I know
Since I can't remember
The other lives I lived before?
But why people always say
"The good old days",
But never "The better present time"?

[xlwoo]

My Love Is a Cruel Beauty

My love is a cruel beauty,
Never lets me get close to her,
Because she knows so well
If I creep near enough to her
I will sure steal her heart.

My love is a cruel beauty,
Never accepts a gift from me,
Because she knows so well
If she once takes a present
She can no longer guard her heart.

My love is a cruel beauty,
Never allows me to kiss her,
Because she knows so well
If once my lips touch hers
The electric shock will go into her heart.

[xlwoo]

Santa Claus

Christmas Eve again!
My annual duties call.
As my reindeer are sick,
How can I go round?

Who got a snowmobile for me?
I never tried that before.
Can a couple of dogs pull that thing?
It looks so heavy, really so heavy.

How stupid are the modern architects:
The houses don't have chimneys.
How can people keep warm inside
Without being choked by the smoke?

No worry about that,
They will survive anyway.
But how can I get in
To distribute the gifts?

Every year I shoulder a heavy bag;
It feels heavier and heavier,
Since I grow older and older----
I really need a revolution.

Okay, from this year on,
I'll get gift certificates
And slip them under the doors;
That makes my work easy.

[xlwoo]

Monologue of Ozone Layer

How painful I feel,
As the Ultra-Violet rays hit me,
But I don't care about the pain,
If you are safe, oh, Man.

Don't make holes in me, oh, Man,
With your stupid fluoride!
It hurts me more than the rays,
Since it comes from friends.

Do you realize, oh, Man,
Wise creature you call yourself,
If I am made extinct,
How can you survive?

[xlwoo]

To Spring----a sonnet

Oh you, sweet Spring, alight from cherub's wing,
And put the ugly winter full to flight;
And rouse the Earth to smile, and larks to sing,
With skies so bright and hearts of youth so light.
Your gentle and genial breaths each blossom blow
While bees in gardens hum the lullabies.
The hills and dales are stripp'd of mantles of snow,
And streams and rivers freed from irons of ice.
May seasons all be Spring--the pride of years,
That all the things would e'er in glories gleam!
May men be ever in the prime of years!
But dream, however sweet, is but a dream.
If happy when you come and sad when gone,
Would that you'd never come or never gone!

[xlwoo]

My Life

My life's like a cup of coffee.
It is black and bitter,
But sometimes with sugar of love,
And sometimes with cream of fun.

My life's like a bottle of wine.
It is claret and sweet,
But if I enjoy it too much at a time,
I will finish the bottle sooner.

My life's like a bowl of ice-cream.
It is cold and sweet,
But if I don't eat it quick,
It will melt into a mess.

My life's like a speeding boat.
It skims away so swift.
What's left in its wake?
Foams and fading ripples.

My life's like a dud firecracker.
It goes off without smoke
And has nothing like a noise to make
In this wide ambitious world.

[xlwoo]

To Nightingale

Oh my little nightingale, sing no more, please!
Your song, sweet as it is, disturbs my peace.
You are no comforter in my sorrow,
With my eyes sunken and my cheeks hollow.

Sing, my dear nightingale, oh, sing again,
For I feel more lonely without your strain;
And still no peace of mind in night's quietude,
And no rest and sleep in single solitude.

Why I feel so chilly in summer's night?
There's no fire to warm my heart and no light.
Oh, garrulous warbler, can you tell me,
Where the darling flame of my heart to be?

Fly, oh, fly high and low, my songster dear!
Fly to seek for me my love far and near,
And bring me my sweet damsel of noble mind,
With strong love and firm character combined!

[xlwoo]

A Limerick

There was a young man with a secret wish
To translate Chinese into English.
When he found a shortage
In his word storage,
He dived into the dictionary to fish.

[Pompey Bum]

There once was a girl named Louise
Who dreamed of untangling Chinese;
She cried, "Fourth tone sandhi?
That's not very handy!
It sounds like some damned skin disease!"

Enjoying your poetry, xiwoo. :)

[xlwoo]

[ Good poem. Thanks.]

A Dirge

Can you believe a nymph would die?
My eyes deceived, seeing her lie.
Perhaps she's in her sleep so sweet,
And would some day be up on feet!

[xlwoo]

The Red Afterglow

1) Lo, the red afterglow,
Against the sky blue!
Is it the blush of Heaven,
As on a maiden's cheeks,
When she catches sight
Of her coming lover?

2) Lo, the red afterglow,
Against the sky blue!
Is it the fire of bivouac
Kindled by Nymphs and Naiads
On the banks of Milky Way
Holding a celestial picnic?

3) Lo, the red afterglow,
Against the sky blue!
Is it the ruddy gauze veil
That veiled the face of Juno
On her holy nuptial day
When She married Jupiter?

4) Lo, the red afterglow,
Against the sky blue!
Is it the fire of Mt. Olympus
Stolen by noble Prometheus,
And in his careless down-flight
Set the fleecy clouds aflame?

5) Lo, the red afterglow,
Against the sky blue!
Is it the blood of the heroes
That died on battlefields
In the sacred defense
Of their dear motherland?

6) Lo, the red afterglow,
Against the sky blue!
Is it the Isle of Coral
Removed by a white witch
From the Pacific deep
To the heavens above?

7) Lo, the red afterglow,
Against the sky blue!
Is it a cluster of peach trees
Their blossoms in full bloom,
Grown by the daughters of God
And watered with nectar?

8) Lo, the red afterglow,
Against the sky blue!
Is it the rouge of Flora
Spread all over the sky
By her frightened maids
In escape from her anger?

9) Lo, the red afterglow,
Against the sky blue!
Is it a large piece of sponge
Soaked through with claret
Upset from the Holy Grail
By a rash cosmic pilot?

[xlwoo]

July 4

Did you hear the voice
Of democracy and freedom
That bellowed in uproar
Over two hundred years ago,
And echoed through history,
Sinking into every heart?
The voice of independence
Inspired the very cowards
Up to arms and into fight
For a new nation.
“Give me liberty
Or give me death!”
Then victory was theirs
At the price of death,
Which benefited the survivors
Who carried on the spirit
Of freedom and democracy
Throughout the world.

[xlwoo]

The Moment

The moment, the shameful moment
When the wicked airplanes crashed
Into the World Trade Center
And the magnificent buildings collapsed.

The moment, the sorrowful moment
When thousands of precious lives
Were very cruelly extinguished,
Leaving so many families bereft.

The moment, the ruthless moment
When the crazy wrong thought
Struck into the morbid foolish mind
To use commercial planes as missiles.

The moment, the grievous moment
When they gave up their futile lives
To murder thousands of the innocent.
But for what? For what?!

The moment, the last sad moment
When the beloved kissed good-bye
With the fond hope to see the face again,
But never, never, ever again.

The moment, the mournful moment
When so many hearts were broken,
So many eyes were weeping dry.
Oh, God, dost Thou behold on high?

The moment, it’s the moment
To curb the stupid actions with reason.
Why not live and let live
In rightful peace and love?

[xlwoo]

To My Beloved
(for Valentine’s Day)

Your kiss is the hot chocolate.
Your love is the crazy fire.
Your blush is Valentine’s roses.
Your touch is like a sweet dream.

I wish my kiss can be as hot.
I wish my love can be as crazy.
I wish my blush would not be seen.
I wish my touch is not so tough.

You are the sunshine in my gloom.
You are the comforter in my sorrow.
You are the bearer of flowers
To adorn my solitary life.

I’d like to be the sunshine you enjoy.
I’d like to be the comforter you need.
I’d like to be the bearer of happiness
To make your life a blessing.

[xlwoo]

Song Of Love

1) Burn, the flame of love,
Oh, burn in my heart!
The holiest fire,
If once kindled,
Will never die
Through time and tide.

2) The love's soul be made noble,
The love's heart be made brave,
And love's self unselfish,
By that sacred light!
And all the dirts and filths
Be consumed in that blaze!

3) Two of such hearts
Nothing can hinder
From eternal union
That brings Heaven's blessing,
For what is the best
Can endure Time's test.

4) Free is my heart
That hovers like a lark
In the vast blue sky;
But where to seek a nest
For a comfortable rest
From long weary flight?

5) A nest of purest gold
Set with sparkling gems----
That's another heart,
Chastest and tenderest,
In a maiden's bosom,
Shining with every virtue.

6) Be there such another heart
Within the bounds of the world,
Let mine lie in thine,
If each worth the other;
And in the holiest flame,
Both will melt into one.

7) Like thunder in a valley,
Love has its echo too;
That's from another heart.
So long has my heart cried,
Resounding twixt heaven & earth,
But where is the response?

8) The sweetest songs of love
Are the voiceless melodies,
Played upon the heart-strings
With the perfect harmonies
That pervade the night sky
Burning with sable fire.

9) The sweetest dreams of love
Are the heavenly visions,
Only dreamt in golden youth,
With a romantic hue,
Filled with scenes of fairyland
And the mirth of paradise.

10) The greatest sorrows of love
Are egoism and faithlessness,
That sadden the loving heart
And blight the devoted soul
More deeply and grievously
Than anything on good earth.

11) What's the color of love?
Love has many colors:
It has blue feelings,
It has a green eye,
It has pink spectacles,
It may cause a red fight;
Sometimes it is black,
Sometimes it is purple,
Sometimes it is yellow,
Sometimes it is white.

12) Fie, Venus, great impostor,
Thou hast long deceived me
Into the pursuit of pure love,
And advised me unwearily
To prostrate and place at thy feet
My innocent and honest heart.

13) But luckily enough now
I've discovered thy lies:
There is no such a thing
In this wide world
That can be called pure love
But what's the poet's illusion.

[xlwoo]

A Modern Lullaby

A little star in the sky
Is winking its little eye.
Sleep, oh, my little babe, sleep,
For the night is now deep.

Cry no more, my babe sweet,
Stir no more your little feet.
Look, the moon in pale hue
Is white with rage at you.

Sleep, oh sleep, my babe dear,
Sleep till mummy comes near.
Mummy will take you on a trip
On the morrow, in a space-ship,
To pick this little star you long for,
And pin it on your pinafore.
Sleep, oh sleep, my babe dear,
Sleep till mummy comes near.
Sleep, oh my babe, sleep!