Tree Chinese Poems

LAO TZU ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS III

The Valley Spirit
by Lao Tzu, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

The valley Spirit never runs dry,
the river to whom all waters...

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The Chinese Pistachia


You came to us

a fragile seedling child

with so many names 

that did not fit

your grace and lithefulness


each season of your growth

and vibrant orange change

I...

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Epigrams VII

A question that sometimes drives me hazy: 
am I or are the others crazy?
—Albert Einstein, poetic interpretation by Michael R. Burch


The Whole of Wit
by...

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The Shijing or Shi Jing or Shih-Ching (“Book of Songs” or “Book of Odes”) is the oldest Chinese poetry collection, with the poems included believed...

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These are modern English translations of Chinese poems of The Shijing or Shi Jing ("Book of Songs" or "Book of Odes")

Shijing Ode #4: “JIU MU”
ancient...

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Chinese Poets: English Translations II

These are modern English translations of poems by the Chinese poets Tzu Yeh, Lin Huiyin, Xu Zhimo and Huang E. These...

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These are translations of some of the oldest Japanese waka, which evolved into tanka, renga and haiku. 

While you decline to cry,
high on the mountainside
a...

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Grasses wilt:
the braking locomotive
grinds to a halt
—Yamaguchi Seishi, translation by Michael R. Burch

Oh, fallen camellias,
if I were you,
I'd leap into the torrent!
—Takaha Shugyo, translation by...

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Here, among the Geese,
I can be a Philosopher, a Poet, an Artist...
Or just a Dreamer.
And what will my Dreams be of?
Of the gentle ripples in...

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Death hangs
on the poles
at our bank.
A Chinese 
fishing net 
sinks down
with baits
to lure into 
the fate. 
Doom lurks 
between the
darkness and
the blue. 
Joys dry in...

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At the end of the thought
was sadness.
When temple lies broken
a little white lotus comes up
on the tranquil lake.

A cute word enters the lone voice,
stands down,...

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