Best Bai Poems
As legend has it, there lived Bai Balkhash, a rich man
In the North regions of the then Soviet Kazakhstan
Had a beautiful daughter Ili who was without her Smiley
So Balkhash held a feast with a contest to win Ili.
Ili, loved a shepherd called Karatal and easily managed
For Karatal to win the contest of the grooms staged
But Karatal followed the ancient tradition of love stories
Wherein the fathers were supposed to oppose the realities.
Now the lovers had no option but to run away and marry
And the angry father had no options to go contrary
So he turned them into rivers and himself a lake between.
Made himself a laughing stock taking water from rivers twin.
Today’s reality is Kazakhstan and China using Ili’s water
Poetic justice done, the lake drying, two rivers dying forever.
********
Burlesque Form
======================================
Dr. Ram Mehta
7th place win in:
Contest: Beloved Poem by Giorgio Veneto -
Tonight I drink the ruby wine
of God’s sublime name
my rosewood mala dangling
alluringly over my fingers
each bead calling Him
each sip of His precious
name a holy grail
a divine elixir
brewed in Heaven’s
vineyard
Drunk on a love
that the world can never
understand
I sing His name
and dance through the
moonlit streets
with Ramakrishna, Mira Bai
and all the crazy
God intoxicated Saints
you ever heard of a Lao party?
might be one going on right now…
we Lao folks love that celebratin’
sifting through sunrise and slipping
through sunset we sing our favorite
songs in our heads
it shortens time at work
cuz we sa baiiii sa baiiii
we force ourselves to
sa bai through the weekdays
so when weekend come
we too sai bai to be sa bai while
Beer Lao gushes down as if a recession
exists in our bellies
and we must stimulate our celebratory economy
this weekend on our little cousin’s birthday
where grandpas and grandmas
get down Salavan style
Lao folks gotta play that music
gives us an excuse to pick up microphones
clap our hands and wave our wrist around
and dance like how our aunties teach us
when the right song come
when the right keys
of the khaen flute lifts our stress out
our sleepless bodies
we always celebrating something
waiting for that weekend
coasting past the jobs we hate
or waiting to grab jobs we don’t have
it don’t matter if our elders can’t speak English
they singing like they own the land
where their voices reach
rejoicing over the smallest
of happenings
and we all sa baiiiii real good
Tanka_tok-singsing
ai bilong nait
raunim poin, ikam, ikam
klostu tru nau
solwara bai tok-singsing
arere long nambis
Translation:
Tanka_poetry
the eye of night
bouts the point, rising, rising
very soon now
salt-water will speak poems
at the fringes of the shore
(inspired by the poetry of Li Bai)
Beer I sip from a can
Stars tremble in my telescope
Drunk, I rise to fetch another can
New stars have entered my scope
©dbyrne April 2014
Doi, Doi, Doi – Doiya, Babaa
Bai, Bai, Bai – Baiya, Babaa
Sleep, my darling – darling my baby
Has gone to moon – your Mom, my baby.
Doi, Doi, Doi – Doiya, Babaa
Bai, Bai, Bai – Baiya, Babaa
Moon when blooms – behold, Mom baby
You’ll see there – your Mom, my baby.
Your Mom, an angel – dwells in your dreams
A lovely nymph – she swims in streams
Doi, Doi, Doi – Doiya, Babaa
Bai, Bai, Bai – Baiya, Babaa.
Inspired by a Sri Lankan Sinhalese lullaby (Refrain is a copy of the original);
doi/doiya and bai/baiya mean ‘sleep’ (imperatives); / babaa is an equivalent to baby.
March 13, 2021
Nursery Rhyme Poetry Contest
Eve Roper
In the middle of the night
My heart feels the most wonderful
Without the hustle and bustle of the day
Without the secular noisy
Thus, I can drink wine and recite poetry with LI Bai about Romance (Note: Li Bai is one of the most famous ancient Chinese Romantic poets)
I can speak my mind freely with Zhuangzi about life (Note: Zhuangzi, is an influential ancient Chinese philosopher)
In the middle of the night
My heart feels the most wonderful
I can touch my heart gently to say “Darling, here you are”
I can feel the tenderness of Beethoven’s “For Alice”
I can share the passion of Mozart's “Symphony of Destiny”
My heart feels so wonderful
When the lights are turned off
Only the moon light
Throwing into the window frames
Touching my tiring body softly
Kissing my dry lips gently
Only in the middle of the night
My heart feels so wonderful
I imagine my dreamed lover affectionately smiling to me
Sweet like a surge of springs
Subtle like a beautiful rainbow
Only in the middle of the night
My heart feels so wonderful
I dance with beautiful ladies in the Moon,
I kiss the stars with the blue sky
The Moon casts her tenderness to me
The stars whisper to me secretly
I am like a newborn baby
With the love of the universe
Sleeping slowly and deeply
Only in the middle of the night
My heart feels the most wonderful
Written by Yunyan GU
Dec. 2015
Meer Bai (1498-1546) was a Hindu mystic, musician, poet, and saint. She was born to a royal house, but gave up all privilege to live as a beggar, singing of her true love Krishna along the byways and in the marketplace. I have adapted two of her poems, striving as best I might to capture my sense of her person and persona.
I.
I want you to have all that I can provide:
The beauty of my gaze upon you
The grace of my mouth that praises you
The splendor of my strength in your defense
The glory of the scent of musk that is my body
For do we not speak of divine love?
We do.
II.
Never let it be forgotten, my love,
That I will bring to you
All the madness you require
To unfurl yourself
Across this universe.
I never used to drink sweet tea,
and neither did I drink coffee.
The one drink that my mother made
was the 60’s stand-by, sugar water called Kool-aid.
I never liked it much; I wanted pop instead.
“Pop I will not buy you,” my mother always said.
So pop became for me a kind of treat-
something other than kool-aid for a beverage sweet.
As an adult in my later years because
I wanted to be healthier, I found tea was
the best alternative for me.
I still hate the taste of coffee.
One year I went crazy and I bought
chamomile, dandelion, peppermint, licorice, green, and quite a lot
of other types of very tasty brands.
How nice it feels to have a cup of warm tea between one’s hands.
Sometimes I use stevia as a sweetener for tea.
That’s because stevia is the best one calorie-free.
However, nothing beats the taste
of tea that is with honey laced!
Boiled water with tea and honey
I sometimes put inside (does this sound funny?)
a tall container like a plastic bottle I carry.
It’s good for any drink, whether juice or dairy.
Once tea has cooled down,
it’s so convenient to carry it around.
I drink it at the place where I teach.
So nice it is to have it within reach.
So pleasant is tea’s flavor. I ought to drink it more.
But when I’m late for work, I have to leave the door
with bottled water or a second drink I like called Bai.
Tea, however, is the very best. Here’s why.
Antioxidants are what a good tea contains.
Good blood pressure and cholesterol also it maintains.
Best of all, I drink it before I go to sleep.
Two bags of tea together in the boiled water I seep.
For vitamin C, some spoonfuls of lemon I throw in.
Drinking Cokes instead of tea ought to be a sin!
/? fju? ???rs g?n/
/? fju? m??r ?u?rs/
/ænd ?n?ð?r wi?k g?n/
/?u?r ju?? iz slipin ?wei in ju?slesn?s/
/wi m?ust t?im kænt st?p k?mpleinin ?v ?u?r fi?rs/
/mi?nw?il, ?u?r ?il?nd ?r in?ndeit wi? k?mpleint fr?m lis?n?rs/
/d??st ?z si? levls raiz/
/jet wi du n?t si? ðem kli?li wi? ?u?r ?iz/
/its ? priv?lid? ai l??nt ?t æn ??li eid?/
/w?t it w?z tu? bi? ængri-- ?ngri ænd helpl?s/
/w?t?in him d?iin ?t sevn p?ust m?ridi?n w?z ? reid?/
/meni h?v nev?r iksp?ri?ns s?t? in ðe?r l?ivs/
/d? v?ln?r?bil?ti ?v d? ha?t t?sd in ? t?a?min l?v ?mi?n?bl/
/?t d? m?um?nt, ?i kænt kw?ntif?i its fribl/
/d? s??s ?v d? l??d's sk??'s m??si det r?k ?p/
/wi? d? k?m?nlti ?v k?nflu?ns wit? s?ilents m?s ?p/
/ai ?m h??t bik??z evri?in iz t?eind?d/
/wi ?r h??t bik??z evri?in iz d? seim/
/ai d??nt n?? ?v d? taim it wil bi?, n?t tu get k?nfju?zd/
/??l ???t it w?d bi? i?zi tu krieit ?u?r w??rld ænd h?v ?ð?r ?ins teim/
/its g?d tu bi? ?l?un/
/t? let ?ð?r bili?v ænd t??n ?p f?? w?t ju h?v si?n; ? sin pr?kleim in k?m?n/
/wi kænt bi? s?pr?izd ænd k?nfju?sd ?v d? i?r? m??d?rn/
/ænd t?u?z tu k?ntinju?sli livin in vikt??ri?n/
/b?i t???ns ju h?v meni pæk ??l ins?id ? l??bi/
/hu? ke?r ?v ju h?v ? beibi/
/h?u wel kæn ju be?r d? kr?s k?nsist?ntli?/
/wen l?d?iks h?v sw?mp d? neit??r prægmætikli/
/wail n?u w?n t?eri? tu? bi? prud?nt/
/au?r ju?tilite?r?n aidi?l?d?i iz ??lm?ust indiskrit/
/b?t wi h?up f?r ri?lus?nt leg?sis laik insti?kt d?en?rei?n ?d/
/ri??li bai sevn'?u kl?k, meni ?r fa?r bi? ?p in d? kl?ud/
/m?ust pi?pl g?u f?r m??r?l weit liftin/
/ænd get ðemselvz s?m ?uv?-divel?pt m?sls/
/m?sk ænd t???t??uin meibi eids tu tisju?s/
/if ha?dw??k, fauk?s, ænd rizili?ns a?nt teik digreidin/
/fei? iz wau tu meik d? du k?m d?n/
/w??k iz g?? tu s?vaiv d? stre?? k?m f?n/
/g?d iz ??lm?iti, n?u w?n ?z ? s?ksesfl disen?n/
/greitnes vaut? seifd in ?s nids ? k?t ?b?v ju??u?l n?t tu bi si?sd ?p in st?gnei??n/
君不见黄河之水天上来，奔流到海不复回。
君不见高堂明镜悲白发，朝如青丝暮成雪。
人生得意须尽欢，莫使金樽空对月。
天生我材必有用，千金散尽还复来。
烹羊宰牛且为乐，会须一饮三百杯。
岑夫子，丹丘生，将进酒，杯莫停。
与君歌一曲，请君为我倾耳听。
钟鼓馔玉不足贵，但愿长醉不复醒。
古来圣贤皆寂寞，惟有饮者留其名。
陈王昔时宴平乐，斗酒十千恣欢谑。
主人何为言少钱，径须沽取对君酌。
五花马，千金裘，
呼儿将出换美酒，与尔同销万古愁。
I am composing a translation of this poem by Li Bai.
The poem's essence translated into Latin is "Carpe Diem'
but aren't 90% of all poems can be translated into 'Carpe Diem'?
The tassel of Bai
Ethnic girl's hat made of silk,
Worth beauty to try.
Mo-ji-bai Wom-ba-su-mi Smith,
Please, Lord, be true!
Whenever you reach out,
My heart just wants to shout!
For my
Mojibai Wombasumi Smith!
Da da da da da da da
Mojibai Wombasumi Smith,
Her eyes, so blue!
I’m nearly going to swoon,
She wants to meet me soon!
Oh my
Mojibai Wombasumi Smith!
Da da da da da da da
Mojibai Wombasumi Smith,
She needs my help!
She wants my bank account,
An undisclosed amount!
For my
Mojibai Wombasumi Smith!
Da da da da da da da
Mojibai Wombasumi Smith,
I am confused!
Turns out she was a fake,
My heart is going to break!
For my
Mojibai Wombasumi Smith!
Da da da da da da da
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Obviously, the only way this can be read is while singing the tune of John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt, a distant cousin on her mother's side...
The English treated the Indians as slaves,
And we were arrested in our own cave.
Lack of unity made them strong;
Won’t we get freedom our hearts longed.
Lots of struggles and fights,
But there emerged a non-violence might.
Hundreds of people became prey to the bullet fire….
And it was done by general dyer.
The Brahmin sepoy fired the police station
Which glowed the great revolt of our nation..
The brave lady Rani laxmi bai
Fought against the british with lot of joy.
Atlast,our independence is glown..
With lots of life blown,
Let’s salute all the freedom fighters;
With unity to make INDIA more brighter…
Let it Rot
Let it rot like the dead thing it is
may it become like dust
may it never be remembered as anything good
Let it Rot as nothing and be forgotten as a failed experiment
In time I hope it is remembered as the monster it was that ruined so many
may it never return when it is finally gone from this world
May we always guard against its return when it is gone
Let it Rot forever for all the death and misery it has caused.
Forever may Freedom be fought for and forever may communism rot like the cancer it is on history.
Let it Rot!!
Bai Lan!!