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When you were sitting
in front of a lotus pond
and unfurling
the light purple petals
like a morning glory at dawn
no lotus buds
dared to emerge from the water
for fear of getting humbled
And time flies
like spring turning to fall
yet the sweet and pretty memory
never dies
even though the sun is setting
and the misty evening falling
If life is nothing but a dream
why not paint it
on a winding stream
If love is but a fleeting ecstasy
let's recite it
over an immense sea
If beauty is a joy
we treasure forever
then let it expand like ripples
on a pond mirror
My dear friends,
It's Mother's Day today, and the following is a poem I crafted a few years ago for all the mothers in the world.
Happy Mother's Day
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For Our Mother
And we're all playful green leaves
for our mother is a tree
a maple tree living in a small town
on the other side of a mountain
Though she recognizes only a few words
she does read those clouds well
To bear and raise us
she has tasted all kinds of weathers
The season when we're most colorful
is the season when she's young no more
Maybe we're going nowhere
yet, for those lost butterflies in gloomy autumn
we'll paint a yellow brick road
April showers have ushered in
the season
of pomegranate blossoms again
brightly red everywhere
But why are you in no mood
to pick one
and place it in your hair
when spring is still here
when it's a time
for laughing and dancing
Perhaps it’s the frog
that’s to blame
that shouldn't be singing the blues
on the outside
Looking at the wildflowers
swaying in the field
in May
like vibrant young girls
dancing in the soft breeze
in spring
I should feel rejuvenated
and blissful
but unfortunately not
Perhaps it’s because
I can see your sweet smile no more
among them there
Perhaps
How can I bear to think
your charming rosy colors
of yesterday
were ruined and swept away
by the relentless
sudden heavy rain shower
last night
Quote:
Originally Posted by angliholic
I like this one best.
Thanks, qimissung, for your kind reply.Quote:
Originally Posted by qimissung
Goodbye to you
My sweet lass of yesterday
It’s not that I don’t care about you
any more today
but that I can't stand to see
your sweetness
turning into a morning glory
in the afternoon
See you my beauty
from the immemorial past
and I wish
you'd be fresh again
after a good night's sleep
come tomorrow morning
When we’re proliferating
in the veggie garden
farmers treat us as unwanted weeds
and try every way possible
to get rid of us
While in the desert
people try their utmost to grow
protect and pamper us
for we can turn the desert
into an oasis
Whether people like us or not
or wherever we are
we’re still the same green grass
March April and May
It’s so easy
for the joyous spring
to be sneaking away
November December and January
It was once so hard
for the harsh winter to pass
June July and August
The infernally hot and humid weather
is again looming around the corner
I wrote a poem for you
but I didn't send it through
still kept in a jar
beside a bunch of purple lavender
Though you live half a world away
you should've read
those words by now
for they were from the depth
of my soul
While the sun is blazing
without mercy
I need to take a rest
in the shade of a banyan tree
counting the fallen leaves
one by one
like stories of my life
scattered along the journey
watching the clouds drifting by
like dreams of my youth
passing me by
When the sky is painted
with evening glow
I wonder whether I shall follow
the setting sun or
a homeward bound swallow
"...in the shade of a Banyan tree..."
Wonderful, relaxing and contemplative imagery.
Thanks, Gilliatt, for your wonderful feedbackQuote:
Originally Posted by Gilliatt Gurgle
If you want to know
where I came from
and where I'm going to go
you'd better ask the wind
I'm nothing but a roaming cloud
I have no seeds of hope
for you to plant
on your fertile land
no roof to shelter you
from the rain or the sun
The blue sky is my home
and all I own
If you miss my poem
I'll scribble you one
once in a while
But there's no stair
leading to my place
and no string
tied to my wandering soul
for I'm anything but a kite
Revised
You’ll say goodbye again
in a few more days
but where are the pretty flowers
like always
you’ve promised me
after the endless April showers
Until now
you’ve brought me nothing
but rain showers
after rain showers
Perhaps
after you’re gone
I’ll have a new friend June
and I know for sure
she won't hum me any happy tune
Nevertheless
I couldn't care less
for I’ve become used to
the croaking noise
of a pond of lonesome frogs
on lonely spring nights
Thank Heaven and earth
Thank people and animal
Thank every living thing
And every inanimate being
For I’m still alive and have a chance
To repent my folly
And start all over again
A thing of beauty
is a joy forever
and I was a faithful follower
in the past
But my heart hurt
over and over again
when the thing faded like a flower
or a young lass
Now it dawns on me
a heart of beauty is truly
a joy forever
for like a spring
a good heart never
never grows old and ugly
Ahead of me
only birds' chirping
behind me
autumn's gently breathing
scattered on this shady path
were a few blurry footprints
like missing pages
of some unread stories
My mind is more cloudy
than the evening clouds
in the western sky
my feet weak as jelly
longing for a rest
How I wish
to be the little birds
in the tree nearby
perching comfortably
in their cozy nest
Perhaps
I'll sit in the pavilion
on the hillside
waiting for the cicadas
to play their finale
for the maple trees
to turn yellow
for all the leaves
to float like falling snowflakes
and for the spring
to grace this land again
I enjoyed these lines;
my feet weak as jelly
longing for a rest
How I wish
to be the little birds
in the tree nearby
perching comfortably
in their cozy nest
I think this poem does a wonderful job painting the thoughts and physical discomfort of the weary traveler. There are is a lot to like and much nuance that makes it a worth-while read many times.
Thanks, Buh4Bee, for your kind words and praise.Quote:
Originally Posted by Buh4Bee
Reading through a great many of these poems I noticed early on that many of the same phrases were used and similar images were discussed in varying manners. I enjoyed the growth of the traveller, if it is the same traveller (well, or not really), and the expansion of the themes over time was quite rewarding for me as a reader.
Thanks, Fantods1, for reading and giving me this kind feedback.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fantods1
You can say that again for I'm not the same traveller as I was.
A casual glimpse
may leave a bruise
on your delicate skin.
At the thought of holding
your luscious body in my arms,
I'm tingling all over!
Caressing your silky hair
with one hand,
I stroke the tender bosom
gently
with the other
when we start to play
the forbidden game,
Spanish Romance
The melody
you're humming
is so enchanting and alluring
that I don't
have to declare
I'm your best partner.
Revised
In the fresh cool morning
I woke up
to find the roselles
in my garden
wearing
many pale white yellow flowers
in their green clothes
Their faint aromas
remind me of your fragrance
If you were here with me
at this moment
to adore their gracefulness
I wonder
if I can keep my eyes
off you
while you're keeping yours
on them
You don't have to utter a word,
and I know you're poetic
and romantic
as an autumn breeze.
Whenever you visit,
you paint my world yellow
and purple.
But I hate to admit
you're a bit sentimental,
for the boundless blue sky
you bring,
along with those moody clouds,
is something
I can never obliterate easily
from my memory.
Revised
It's another summer evening
and people are coming and going
everywhere
Walking alone
on the sidewalk beside the library
I don't feel lonely at all
in this bustling city
for at least
I have my most loyal dog
my shadow
heeling
and accompanying me
all the way home
in the magnificent sunset glow
You can take my gold
as much as you want
but please leave
my green mountain
alone
Keep the empire building
for yourself
if you really want it
but please don't
defile the clean stream
in my blood
As the heat wave
is in full play
I may
appear droopy and fade
in the sizzling hot sun
As long as I hold on
a little longer
I'm sure
I'll be able to savor
the most mesmerizing
evening glow
in a few hours or so
The beads of sweat
on my little face
are going to
convert into simmering
dewdrops
come tomorrow morning
Hanging on
till next season
I'll have a reason
to harvest
the rainbow-like
falling leaves
from the heavens
Frogs frogs frogs ...
Do you croak so noisily
the whole night through
simply over some trivial mosquitoes
like those politicians
or
do you feel forever lonely
too
though surrounded by millions
of your folks
If so
then I'm willing to compromise
my serenity
When the sun is blazing
and the air is hot
you transform yourself
into a cool green parasol
for the homeless lady bug
to seek shelter in
And when it's pouring
cats and dogs
you act as a natural umbrella
to those helpless frogs
You endow those who
feed on
and take advantage of you
with nutrition
as well as yummy flavors
rather than poison them
Every day
you struggle hard by yourself
simply to survive
in either the flooded
or the dry land
There's a stupid question
which I dare not ask
but it has been on my mind
What's the purpose
of your struggle
and the meaning of your life
It's raining
yet I'm still lingering
beside a lotus pond
Listening to the rhythmic beating
of the rain
on the water surface
and looking to the sky beyond
I feel like crying
The rain keep falling
and cleansing my body
When eventually
the sun ray
comes out to play
perhaps
I'll be rejuvenated again
like a blue water lily
after the rain
Goodbye tomorrow
and sorrow
for today I'll step on a rainbow
and go back to the place
where I came from
re: A Blue Water Lily after the Rain~~Revised
Soaking in the essence of this poem... enjoyed. Imagery and word play A+.
Perhaps 'keeps' in S2 L1 is better for syntax.
Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY
Thanks, Tailor, for pointing out the grammatical error which I was really not aware of when I revised it.Quote:
Originally Posted by tailor STATELY
Thanks again for your time and kindness
While you're smiling
in the morning sunshine
and hanging
over a tall green tree
beside a mountain trail
I try to figure out
why your light blue bell
reminds me of the enigmatic smile
of Mona Lisa
All my life
I've never been aware of
the force of gravity
yet I do sense
the force of your attraction
right now
To measure how beautiful you are
will be like
finding out how mysterious
cicada singing is
I suppose
I have to hurry up
and sketch your beauty
on a white cloud
before a woodpecker nearby
strikes twelve
before you turn yourself into
Cinderella again
If you feel like calling on me
you need not run all the way
to my shabby shanty
You can save
your troubles for another day
for I'm everywhere
like a whimsical zephyr
except at my own humble place
In case
I'm at home
my soul may be still lingering
in a green mountain
where a crystal clear stream
is flowing serenely by
day and night
Remember
once upon a summer
you walked across my quiet path
like a gentle breeze
wafting across a wintry land
A happy encounter
left behind
those unforgettable beautiful memories
like flower petals scattering
in the spring field
You said then
they were your sorrowful tears
when parting
Now I'm regretting to say
they're more like my wistful sighs
when grieving
Walking in the rain
alone
on this July afternoon
I'm carrying a blue balloon
instead of an umbrella
Don't think of me as a great fan
of becoming dripping wet
on this lonely lane
It's simply because
I enjoy the rain singing
dancing
and washing away
the dust and the pain
from those tiny green leaves
along with my griefs
When each bird flies softly by,
waving goodbye to the moody blues,
sailing serenely
to a greener land,
and leaving me nothing
but piles of lonesome clouds.
How I wish
to be able to cut off the line
that has been controlling my life!
One day
when eventually I am free
from the hand
that holds the line of my destiny,
I wonder
whether I'll be flying freely
like a bird
or falling like a free-flying kite
from the top of the world!
The sun is beaming
brightly this morning
and little birds are still chirping
in the green trees
Everything is all delightful
and right
yet this heart of mine
is still raining
like last night
when the summer rain
refused to leave until very late
It's not the rainbow
that I missed
but
your charming silhouette
over it