lyrical minimalism

  • Record of a Night Walk at Chengtian Temple

    – by Su Shi (Song Dynasty) On the night of the twelfth day of the tenth month in the sixth year of Yuanfeng, I had just taken off my clothes and was about to sleep when the moonlight shone through my door. Delighted, I got up and went for a walk. Thinking there was…

  • To the Cloud [Tang Poems]

    — Lai Hu You have a thousand shapes in flakes or piles in vain; Hidden in mountains or on water you remain. The drought is so severe that all seedlings would die. Why won’t you come down but leisurely tower high?

  • To the Early Mume Blossoms [Tang Poems]

    — Qi Ji Frozen are all the trees; Your warm root will not freeze. In the village’s deep snow Last night your branch did blow. Fragrance oozed in wind light; Birds peep at you still white. If you blossom next year, You will foretell spring’s near.

  • The Husband-Watching Rock [Tang Poems]

    — Wang Jian Waiting for him alone Where the river goes by, She turns into a stone Gazing with longing eye. Atop the hill from day to day come wind and rain; The stone should speak to see her husband come again.

  • The Qingming Festival [Tang Poems]

    — Du Mu A drizzling rain falls like tears on the Qingming Festival; The wayfarers’ hearts are going to break on their way. Where can a wine shop be found to drown his sad hours? A cowherd points to a cot amid apricot flowers.