Share your favourite poems here

[JLT]

Speaking of death, Sara Teasdale gave us what might be the best burn I've ever read:

When I am dead and over me bright April
Shakes out her rain-drenched hair,
Tho' you should lean above me broken-hearted,
I shall not care.

I shall have peace, as leafy trees are peaceful
When rain bends down the bough,
And I shall be more silent and cold-hearted
Than you are now.

 

[GrahamLewis]

Speaking of death, Sara Teasdale gave us what might be the best burn I've ever read:

When I am dead and over me bright April
Shakes out her rain-drenched hair,
Tho' you should lean above me broken-hearted,
I shall not care.

I shall have peace, as leafy trees are peaceful
When rain bends down the bough,
And I shall be more silent and cold-hearted
Than you are now.

Ouch

 

[GrahamLewis]

"How to Write a Chinese Poem"

"A well-known Japanese poet was asked how to compose a Chinese poem.
"'The usual Chinese poem is four lines,' he explained. 'The first line contains the initial phase; the second line, the continuation of that phase; the third line turns from this subject and begins a new one; and the fourth line brings the first three lines together. A popular Japanese song illustrates this:
Two daughters of a silk merchant live in Kyoto.
The elder is twenty, the younger, eighteen.
A soldier may kill with his sword,
But these girls slay men with their eyes.'"

From Zen Flesh, Zen Bones pp. 72-73 (DoubleDay Anchor circa 1965)