Of China and her Wisdom by Paul Edlridge

Of China and Her Wisdom

from Cobwebs and Cosmos

by Paul Edlridge

Quam Tsi T’ung Finds Violence Weaker than Serenity

The moth,

Enraged,

Beats against the lamp,

His wings forming

Countless tiny fans,

And falls at last

A fragile pinch of gray ashes.

The lamp burns on,

Tranquilly.

Ku Mung Mourns the Passing or His Years

The rose is dangling

On its broken stem —

Its petals are dropping

One by one —

Who shall gather them together

To make a rose again?

Mi Ti Advises a Young Poet Not to Despair

At the right moment,

The Earth smiles —

Between her lips,

Slightly parted,

A daisy trembles

In sheer delight.

Chou Ching Advises Practicality To a Poet

The stars are radiant queens,

Walking majestically across Infinity,

But the edges of their azure cloaks

Trail in the muddy pools of the Earth.

Ti Fu Rebukes A Vain Man

The branches laden with fruit

Bend humbly to the ground.

Wig Mu Si Speaks of the Vanity of a Man's Illusions

The souls of men

Are birds with beaks of glass,

Which break, knocking

At the adamantine gates

Of Paradise.