Screech Owl
TRAVELLING NORTHWARD
—Tu Fu (713-770)
Screech owls moan in the yellowing
Mulberry trees. Field mice scurry,
Preparing their holes for winter.
Midnight, we cross an old battlefield.
The moonlight shines cold on white bones.
(Translated from the Chinese by Kenneth Rexroth)
_____________________
—Tu Fu (713-770)
Screech owls moan in the yellowing
Mulberry trees. Field mice scurry,
Preparing their holes for winter.
Midnight, we cross an old battlefield.
The moonlight shines cold on white bones.
(Translated from the Chinese by Kenneth Rexroth)
_____________________
SNOW STORM
—Tu Fu
Tumult, weeping, many new ghosts.
Heartbroken, aging, alone, I sing
To myself. Ragged mist settles
In the spreading dusk. Snow scurries
In the coiling wind. The wineglass
Is spilled. The bottle is empty.
The fire has gone out in the stove.
Everywhere men speak in whispers.
I brood on the uselessness of letters.
(Translated from the Chinese by Kenneth Rexroth)
____________________
Tonight in NorCal poetry:
•••Tuesday (10/9), 8:30 PM: Bistro 33 Poetry Series, 226 F St., Davis. Open mic.
A Special Invitation:
This is a special invitation from Rattlesnake Press to a poetry reading this coming Wednesday (tomorrow, 10/10) at 7:30 PM at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento. Featured that night will be:
•••The release of Spiral, a rattlechap by Placerville's Kate Wells of Red Fox Underground;
•••a free littlesnake broadside, Autumn on My Mind, featuring Mary Field of Pollock Pines;
•••#5 in the Rattlesnake Interview Series by B.L. Kennedy, this one featuring Sacramento Poet Laureate Julia Connor;
•••the new, 104-page interview anthology, Conversations: Volume One of the Rattlesnake Interview Anthology Series (a collection of B.L.'s conversations with eleven Sacramento poets);
•••a free broadside tribute to Ben L. Hiatt commissioned by Rattlesnake Press and designed by Richard Hansen, featuring a poem by B.L. Kennedy and art by Pat Grizzell;
•••and cake! All to celebrate Sacramento Poetry Month! Be there!
______________________
COMING HOME LATE AT NIGHT
—Tu Fu
At midnight, coming home, I passed a tiger.
The mountain's black, inside they're all asleep.
Far off the Dipper lowers toward the River.
Above, Bright Star grows great upon the sky.
With candle in the court I glower at two flames.
The apes are restive in the gorge, I hear one cry.
White head, old no more, I dance and sing.
Lean on my cane, unsleeping. And what else!
(Translated from the Chinese by J.P. Seaton)
____________________
TO PI SSU YAO
—Tu Fu
We have talent. People call us
The leading poets of our day.
Too bad, our homes are humble.
Our recognition trivial.
Hungry, ill clothed, servants treat
Us with contempt. In the prime
Of life, our faces are wrinkled.
Who cares about either of us,
Or our troubles? We are our own
Audience. We appreciate
Each other's literary
Merits. Our poems will be handed
Down along with great dead poets'.
We can console each other.
At least we shall have descendants.
(Translated from the Chinese by Kenneth Rexroth)
_____________________
Descendants. Poetry heirs. Doomed to repeat the past... or use it to improve one's work and life. I've just finished the new interview anthology, and I'm stunned at the richness of the voices of these eleven poets as they wrestle with the issues we all share: Where does poetry come from? How can I harness it? And why should I write at all?
Be sure to join us tomorrow night, not only for Kate's wonderful book and Mary's beautiful broadside (plus the tribute to Ben L. Hiatt and—oh! don't forget the cake), but also to get your copy of Conversations: Volume One. These writers don't have all the answers, and a lot of times they flatly disagree with each other. But, as frank andrick says, this is a new dialogue: poets talking to poets and to other writers and, through the medium of print, to you. Be there!
____________________
—Medusa
Medusa encourages poets of all ilk and ages to send their POETRY, PHOTOS and ART, as well as announcements of Northern California poetry events, to kathykieth@hotmail.com (or snail ‘em to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726) for posting on this daily Snake blog. Rights remain with the poets. Previously-published poems are okay for Medusa’s Kitchen, as long as you own the rights. (Please cite publication.) For more info about the Snake Empire, including guidelines for submitting to or obtaining our publications, click on the link to the right of this column: Rattlesnake Press (rattlesnakepress.com).
