robert bly | thinking of tu fu’s poem

Poetry Dispatch No.145 | January 2, 2007

Here’s a perfect poem for another New Year by Robert Bly, based on a poem by TuFu. (712-770) Enjoy the new day. Every day. Norbert Blei

Thinking of Tu Fu’s Poem by Robert Bly

I get up late and ask what has to be done today.
Nothing has to be done, so the farm looks doubly
good.
The blowing maple leaves fit so well with the moving
grass,
The shadow on my writing shack looks small beside
the growing trees.

Never be with your children, let them get stringy like
radishes!
Let your wife worry about the lack of money!
Your whole life is like a drunkard’s dream!
You haven’t combed your hair for a whole month!

from: Silence in the Snowy Fields

robert bly | some people

Photo: Janice Applegate

Poetry Dispatch No.143 | December 29, 2006

Some People by Robert Bly,

Some people
ascend out of our life, some people
enter our life,
uninvited and sit down,
some people
calmly walk by, some people
give you a rose,
or buy you a new car,
some people
stand so close to you, some people,
you’ve entirely forgotten
some people, some people
are actually you,
some people
you’ve never seen at all, some people
eat asparagus, some people
are children,
some people climb up on the roof,
sit down at table,
lie around in hammocks, take walks with their red
umbrella,
some people look at you,
some people have never noticed you at all, some people
want to take your hand, some people
die during the night,
some people are other people, some people are you, some people
don’t exist,
some people do.

from The Winged Energy of Delight, Harper Collins