there was a tender muse-like moment of charm such an Apollonian tear when the cute bee set down on a noble rose in the kind calyx of the bloom full dreamy splendor the gentle sun smiled at that time at it fairy-like oh a sweet morning gracefulness of rays the owl stayed with the courage that is in the habit of flying into an ancient forest homewards there was endlessly … [Read more...]
Another Year (After Su Dongpo)
I open my window, and breathe the spring air. I gaze at the new moon. Tonight, it’s incredibly clear. I hear the crickets, hidden in the grass, and I’m lost in memories of springs past. Alone, I toast this New Year with a glass of old wine. I’ll soon be fifty-five. The stars in the sky surround me, but bring me no cheer. They are so far away, and they have been … [Read more...]
The River will Flow (Afer Li Po)
I drink wine by the river. I can barely see it, and I hear it as in a dream. Are things as they seem? My wife is now dead. Wind rustles the leaves of a nearby tree. The leaves fall slowly, but relentlessly. What must be, will be. The river begins as a quiet mountain stream. It flows through lush fields and gentle hills. But in the end, it is swallowed by the … [Read more...]
Mount Zion Church, Grant Takes Command | Keith Moul
War dead fell in patterns around craters, and will long enrich the battlefield. Some forever will inhabit the soil. Survivors, like shadows, return to circle the lush grass; argue possible versions of their own history. Since victory, I offer my shame at living; I offer atonement as demanded by our leaders; I offer up partisan fantasies couched with propaganda; I offer … [Read more...]
Dolly’s Place on S.R. 29 | Keith Moul
Dolly's life and my life proceeded apace, anyway, but only since 1996 overlapping at her prairie cafe. She was only thirty when the former operator quit the lease, held so long patrons forgot “before Bill.” At sixty years, I only ate, without talent as a cook. One thing I know for sure, thirty years of separation tends to bar sentimental talk between contemporaries. But, … [Read more...]