Monday 22 February 2016

(1) The Tip of my Lifeberg. (2) Meeting Old Du Fu at Tea Time.

                          1

          The Tip of  my Lifeberg. 


  The actress, the poet, the poor gypsy girl;
         The kisses, the coffee, the beers.
Oh so jolly romantic.- Oh so frantic with tears.

         I cannot tell you the rest of my story,
I must check the clock before time disappears
       And I tumble downstairs on my knees.

 Just grab a ballpoint and a wad of old paper
        And scrawl any ending you please.


Trevor John Karsavin Potter.
February 22nd. 2016.

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                        2.

Meeting Old Du Fu at Tea Time.


This book has brought me back to old time China:
I listen to the white haired words of the Ch`ang-an poet,
Pull a chair up to the table, make myself at home.

The granting of this interview is most fortuitous.
The footsteps that I followed over the wet grass
Led to a single pillar,

                                   The inscription tells me nothing,
Just a few simple words that praise a public servant,
No mention of his poems, no hint he might be famous.

The purchase of this book has brought him home.
Now he is really with me, if only in words on paper.
Now he is closer to me than my mother`s father.

Du Fu bequeathed his thoughts; my granddad only photos,
Grey grained printed shadows that do not show his voice.


Trevor John Karsavin Potter.
February 2nd. 2016.

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