The Old & The New ~ Poetry

No man was ever yet a great poet,
Without being at the same time a profound philosopher.
For poetry is the blossom and the fragrance
Of all human knowledge,
Human thoughts, human passions, emotions, language. "

Samuel Taylor Coleridge.



POETRY

LI PO

"You ask me why I dwell in the green mountain;
I smile and make no reply for my heart is free of care.
As the peach-blossom flows down stream
and is gone into the unknown,
I have a world apart that is not among men."

- Li Po 701 - 762

Rain

Roads not yet glistening, rain slight,
Broken clouds darken after thinning away.
Where they drift, purple cliffs blacken.
And beyond -- white birds blaze in flight.

Sounds of cold-river rain grown familiar,
Autumn sun casts moist shadows. Below
Our brushwood gate, out to dry at the village
Mill: hulled rice, half-wet and fragrant

by Tu Fu 712 - 770

THE NEW

This is a piece I wrote and finished recently. If anyone read in earlier poetry entries, what I wrote about the Eagles in B.C. and the Hancock Wildlife Channel. Then you will know what this poem is about.

http://www.hancockwildlifechannel.org/index.php?topic=cam-sites

I’m Missing You

Empty nest! oh empty nest!
Nest now so full, of nothingness.
Yet how such magic do you still hold.
To capture Worldwide - so many hearts.

For as if in answer to a memory, so dear -
Eaglet swoops in, scattering my concentration.
Pen in hand, I pause to wipe a happy tear -
For bringing again - that excitement sensation!

Oh precious nest, woven with dreams,
Once more I close my eyes and see -
The parents at home with eaglets two!
Everlasting memories, safe in that Tree.

Eric Valentine March 5/07©