Must be in a strange mood this morning as I read these short poems and found that they brought a smile, not a laugh, but just a gentle smile. I hope they do the same for you.
Caged Birds
The young finch asked the old one why he wept:
"There's comfort in this cage where we are kept."
"You who were born here may well think that's so
But I knew freedom once, and weep to know."
-- Ignacy Krasicki --
from World Poetry, trans. Jerszy Peterkiewicz and
Burns Singer
Rival Beauties
Slanting their parasols against the blaze,
They smiled politely, went their separate ways. . .
-- Rskuten --
from A Chime of Windbells, Harold Stewart, ed.
Hunger for Beauty
Beside the road a pink hibicus flowered,
Which my discriminating horse devoured!
-- Basho --
from A Chime of Windbells, Harold Stewart, ed.
The Master and the Dog
Because of thieves, a dog barked all night through.
The master, sleepless, beat him black and blue.
On the next night the dog slept; and thieves came.
The silent dog was beaten all the same.
-- Ignacy Krasicki --
from World Poetry, trans. Jerszy Peterkiewicz and
Burns Singer
I hope the above bring a smile this Monday morn.
R.T.,
ReplyDeleteMine was more of a rueful smile, one in recognition of the little incongruities of life -- not the big ones, but the little ones we (or at least I do) encounter every day.
R.T.,
ReplyDeleteAgreed. I seldom if ever use "rue" or any of its derivatives, but it definitely was the right descriptive to convey the sense of my "smile."
lovely poems and haiku (including the ones on Tim's post...). wasn't rue a plant featured in some of Shakespeare's sonnets? or elsewhere?... more and more, i find my memory emulating Tim's "swiss cheese brain"... it's like i remember things, but they're not the ones i want to remember... sigh, the beauties of aging...
ReplyDeleteR.T.,
ReplyDeleteI had forgotten that pun.
tx, Tim, i knew i'd seen that somewhere in shakespeare... typical of me to not get it quite right...
ReplyDeletetx, tim. i must remember not to spend so much time on the pity pot... i never could understand how actors remember all those lines; it's just one of those stunning human abilities that leaves one gasping in wonder...
ReplyDeleteI would have two problems. One would be memorizing my lines, and the second would be functioning under pressure.
ReplyDeleteFred: me, too... i was actually in a couple of Shakespeare plays when I was in high school, but only because no one else would do it... i was encouraged by my betters to abandon the idea of continuing with that protocareer...
ReplyDeleteNudpuddle,
ReplyDeleteWay back when, I got pressured into getting involved in a play put on by two high schools. I was really nervous about it, but I found out that they needed several people to work the spotlights. I volunteered immediately if not before. My one and only encounter with the stage worked out well. However, I made sure that there would not be a second.