Thursday, June 30, 2016

Sonnet 136



Sonnet 136
Laijon Liu 20160630

How easy to make a wish, but to accomplish it?
Our children naively say: “I will…”
Our old parents cough in sickbed sign their will
I often ponder the things I could truly fulfill
We wish we are in love, find our match
We wish we are forever, all things well
But in reality we must adapt, adjust
For happiness we must let our failures slide
Count our days, countless days are forgotten
Count our years, the numbers less and less
Count our wishes, check marked are a few
And Time sneaks up on us, we write our last will
For love we wish we will fulfill
For wish we swallow a bitter pill






Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Sonnet 135



Sonnet 135
Laijon Liu 20160629

Whoever has will, does live
As the will you had that made you
And the will I have now succeeded
So your will becomes mine, I know
Whoever will come, will also write
The same will to pass down
For generations to read on
Raise our cup, and shout “Thine will be done!”
This will is a tiger skin rug
Flattened under our feet
Not a trophy of dead, but a majestic spirit
That forever haunts them in the nights.
Let no cowards, no greedy poachers rule;
Believe only this: be true and be brave.



Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Sonnet 134



Sonnet 134
Laijon Liu 20160628

Somehow the deal is about property rights
To own, or owe, or a market value exchange
A contract between two parties, or a settlement
Sometimes acquisition becomes liquidation
A hostile takeover that end up a custody fight
That’s why we need lawyers and accountants
Let drunken poets muse their love sonnets
I’ve read break up and heartbroken verses
But never a great inspiring divorce poem: Praise Freedom!
Like diamond is forever but love is uncertain
In this floating life attachment comes with Boom!: Bills!
Or beggars can’t be choosers.
O Rose! O Rose!
Love got prickles too!



Monday, June 27, 2016

Sonnet 133



Sonnet 133
Laijon Liu 20160627

A thousand cuts carved my ivory heart
Time chisels me this shape of agony
An art of dying, wounds slowly bleed
I again quietly lie on that marble altar
Slicing scars constructed a web of veins
Distorted patterns unwoven by the weaving hands
Ocean surrounds, separates you and me
Past dreams, sunset over the temple ruins
Thoughts is a paper boat or a paper plane, drift
Through the shimmering stars, the twirling rain
This, is made for folding and cutting
This, is designed to sail and fly
Ah, face the wind, ride the waves
Or bathe, sing my swansong










Sonnet 132



Sonnet 132
Laijon Liu 20160626

Eyes filled with sorrow seeing the world of misery
Hearts tormented to find solace and rest
Humanity born out of darkness, into darkness
As if we’ve never panicked or cried for help
Earth revolves around the sun, tilted
That immense gravity, unchangeable
Pulling all things onto its constant course
The night is our eyes, our true identity
Even at our happiest moment, our glimpsing glance
Reveals our uncertainty and concerns
Sadness, grief, fears, and
All that makes life pitiful, beautiful
Eyes hold a soul and his past
Eyes hold our world and universe





Saturday, June 25, 2016

Sonnet 131



Sonnet 131
Laijon Liu 20160625

Mirror, mirror on the wall
Who is the fairest in the world?
My heart is dark, my mind cruel
But my beautiful appearance overrules
Your good faith is to praise and behold
How I wield my power to make love groan
Or you say I dare, I err, and I’m too bold
But I must capture the best for myself
The world may turn to frozen white
The rivers may surge bleeding red
But I will not change my mind I swear
My magic leopard spots never fade
Dark art saves us maybe, and
In this world how we progress








Friday, June 24, 2016

Sonnet 130


Sonnet 130
Laijon Liu 20160624

My Mistress’ eyes that verses can’t describe
Coral is red but her lips may be purple or blue
Her breasts I haven’t seen, only my dreams draw
Her hair wire or splash that must be some bliss
Yeah, we men all buy and send roses, bore
But I think she prefers kales to blooms
And perfumes kill senses, less is more
So sitting beside her I know I’m home
I wish I hear her voice someday somehow
And praise her rap or growl, say: “O! Beethoven!”
I’ve seen so many goddesses sail, but
If my Mistress stomps, the Empire Tower sways.
So, by hell, I’m sure my love is rare
No matter how you dig and compare


Note:

This is a reply-poem to the Bard’s reply-poem to an original poet that learned from book [Art of Shakespeare Sonnet, page# 556] by Helen Vendler, great help!

Sonnet 130 by Shakespeare, a reply-poem

My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips’ red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress when she walks treads on the ground.
     And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
     As any she belied with false compare.

The Original Sonnet

My mistress’ eyes are brilliant like the sun;
And coral’s color matches her lips’ red;
Her snowy breasts are like to others none,
And golden wires ornament her head.
A bed of damask roses, red and white,
I find within the confines of her cheeks,
And perfume’s self, conferring all delight,
Breathes in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, and well I know
That only music hath such pleasing sound;
In walking she doth like a goddess go,
Her dainty feet scarce printing on the ground.
     In all,, by heaven I think my love as rare
     As any she conceived for compare.









 








Thursday, June 23, 2016

Sonnet 129



Sonnet 129
Laijon Liu 2012.07.09

Ah, Lust, how we comprehend and define?
This old enemy, a slave ruler of body and soul.
Hormone, odors, warm sap and boiling milk
Breasts, muscles, soft trembling, contracting firm
Youth fairness beguile, old prudent ones set traps
Yet two-minute happy pride leads to lifetime strive
Kings and Queens hold on their crowns and thrones
Emperors, Pharaohs design their pyramids and high wall
Heroes die by their name; ministers bow to receive fame
Traders convert all thing to coins, miners dig gold
And all the world always hunger, never fulfilled
Invade! Ravage! Possess! Control! Unrest! Invest!
    In this we are born, and this cancer we die;
    And our future like we, scavenge present in dream.







Sonnet 128

Sonnet 128



Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Sonnet 127



Sonnet 127
Laijon Liu 20160621

What color is counted fair nowadays?
White, Black, Brown, Yellow, Green…?
O, it’s the color of Gold, a rich color
That all men praise and admire
Since ancient time men are drawn to it
Trade their young daughters to gain
Train their boys to ravage like wolves
Sort each other in clans and enslave
Can God blame us for this sin? This desire?
That power and beauty are based on?
And resource that we build our love upon?
Even our religions and laws require it?
How I wish we’re truly fooled by color
And never realize that all men are brown














 

Monday, June 20, 2016

Sonnet 126



Sonnet 126
Laijon Liu 20160620

What power we have over Time
But decay, loss and desire?
Forms take shape from infant, mature to wither
Like songs proceed to their silent end
If this page, this ink, and my notebook
Can ever keep you still to eternity
Then the past greats and our loves
Will come back to our arms before we depart
How helpless we are in this universe
We must pour out our soul and scatter
To know our inability, infirmity, and mortality
To swallow our sobs and face whatever that comes.









Sonnet 125



Sonnet 125
Laijon Liu 20160619

Ecstasy of St. Teresa, Horror of Laocoon
How men’s reality meets artistic exaggeration
Our fate wanders btwn angel and sea monster
Our minds hit bliss, climax, helpless, torment
Ten thousand arrows shot our hearts
Like sunrays pierce into a hut, set free a soul
A giant python constricts and tosses us
Like tempest, quake wearing the night
But often life feels blank and stagnant
All we do is patrolling in routine numbness
Our silent meditation is more real
Than plot-filled dramas and rockin roll
The carousel amusement is rotating, rotating
The red nose clown making balloons nonstop








Sunday, June 19, 2016

Good Books


The Gay Genius: The Life and Times of Su Tungpo Hardcover – 1947

Link
Biography of Song Dynasty Poet Su Shi, many his famous poems are translated.
Review
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Six Records of a Life Adrift (Hackett Classics)

link
Short Memoir of a Qing Dynasty poet about his love, poetry prose similar as Story of the Stone or Dream of Red Chamber, Great New Translation! click 'Look Inside' to read Chapter 1.
Review
--------------------------------------------------------------------

The Travels of Lao Tsan Paperback – October 15, 1990

link
Late Qing Dynasty Novelist, Great Translation. click 'Look Inside' to read Translator's Intro.
Review
-------------------------------------------------------------------









Saturday, June 18, 2016

Sonnet 124



Sonnet 124
Laijon Liu 20160618

O Love, aren’t we all children of the states?
We pay tax, go on tour, make ends meet
As subject to Fortune’s favor or hate
Sweat and dirt on our faces, it’s not game
And all of our consequences are designed
Often a voice comforts us in our heads
Say: “My child, God has a plan for you
You are special to Him, so bear the yoke.”
We never doubt this mindsaying a heresy
As long as we firmly carry out our tasks
Keep the system running, guard our policy
The blocks stack and the number grows
For this we all become fools
Die for goodness, labor for their crimes






Friday, June 17, 2016

Sonnet 123



Sonnet 123
Laijon Liu 20160617

Today’s new page inked yesterday’s stage
Your tears now for some events past
Nothing is interesting than what we collect
Not baseball cards or treasure trove or rare
Not Holy Grail or old folio leather bonds
Not trendy gadgets or prom queen or Nobel Prize
Only you, the days and nights we’ve shared
That will never be erased by tyrant Time
Haste, I search everywhere gather and store
Carefully draw your rose lips on my pages
Those priceless moments remain ever fresh
Only you and me, the world into oblivion
Nothing is important
Only you I recollect







Thursday, June 16, 2016

Sonnet 122



Sonnet 122
Laijon Liu 20160616

What song sings? What poem writes?
What painting draws and film depicts?
You, the fragments and the highlights
In my memory that remains forever
Surpass all beauties and authorities
Give meanings to Nature and my being
It is why hot blood circulates my body
Heart beats to the end in every second
If all my gifts and works fail you
Then forget this like I’ve never existed
Delete this moment like never happened
You are cured, and never be sick again.
Virus and germs are everywhere
We spread diseases and catch flu







Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Sonnet 121



Sonnet 121
Laijon Liu 20160615

I am good or bad, does it freaking matter?
For I care not the public and their critics
No one should live in others’ dictations
Be it my own judgment and own pleasure
I want to be different, do my own things
Shamed to follow mainstream, abide the norms
I should grow backbone and balls
Speak my own mind, live my own life
And do whatever I want to do
For others’ opinions and belief about me
They should keep it to themselves
My body, my mind, my rights, my choice
Be myself, free of slavery
Be like God, not a puppet










Sonnet 120

Sonnet 120
Laijon Liu 20160615

I don't know why I’m here on Earth
If I dare to ask my parents for explanation
I’m sure they can’t offer a proper reason
I guess I’m just biological cause, culture custom
A thing we not give a serious thought
Like a sudden death, or an unplanned pregnancy
A death that relieves agonies, finally
A birth that brings tragedies, repeating
Parents give their children a name
Their countries print them some passports
The rest they have to struggle for
To see if they are really lucky or not
I never make my child suffer
I try not to make another woman cry









Monday, June 13, 2016

Sonnet 119



Sonnet 119
Laijon Liu 20160613

Pour it down our throats, pour!
Whether it’s sweet, sour, hot or bitter
These poor fatherless generations
Born of distress, pass down distress
Troubles unsolvable, we endure
Dreams far away, we dream on
Drag that hope, drag our drowsiness
And pray “All’s well that ends well”
Kids are fighters, nuts pursue ‘righteous’
Gun makers write our law and tragedies
We learn to aim, never the right targets
We labor good cause, benefit our foes.
The billowing sea storms untamable
So guzzle, like we are the wine god











Sunday, June 12, 2016

Sonnet 118



Sonnet 118
Laijon Liu 20160612

Delicacies and dainties of every kind
Various colors and tastes of feeding frenzy
Appetite is stomach science, aesthetic art
We are carefully prepared on a white plate
Young men’s blood swirls in vampire’s cup
Dr. Lecter holds a silver knife gently slice
Magic mirror reflects a pair crystal slipper
An old castle, a chandelier in the woods
I must have all that everything, the bests
To know the good, the bad, to see death
To wear heroes’ faces, to bear deity names
To acquire all princesses, I can’t be contained
There’s a black hole in me
So I feed him everything I catch














Saturday, June 11, 2016

Sonnet 117



Sonnet 117
Laijon Liu 20160611

Something sustains us and governs everything
From an atom to the vast multiple universes
Since the fission of singularity to infinite stars
There’s something here and there to ever exist
Life physically attached, spiritually bonded
As the air above taking shapes of rain and clouds
Passing through our capillaries and blood vessels
Restoring the function of cells degenerate daily
Something can be felt, only detected by hearts
That mesmerizes the minds of mathematics laws
That grants freedom and consciousness to being
And regulates the dead to stay in original forms
I try my whole life to relate
I know only that gives life

Note:
That something make us bond and all things connect.












Friday, June 10, 2016

Sonnet 116



Sonnet 116
Laijon Liu 21060610

I have to admit love comes with pains
Many young poets say “love is sweet”
And in so many ways they loudly sing
But it also deals with trials and loss
Those moment hearts weighing grief
Minds search universe for specific spot
How I count each day and each hour
According to events happened long ago
Memories never fade, grow with time
World I concern not, nor care myself
Meaning meaningless, value worthless
Only my thoughts are living elements
I am never wrong on this
Because we all have griefs











Thursday, June 9, 2016

Sonnet 115



Sonnet 115
Laijon Liu 20160609

I swear my poems do not lie, it’s true
And I don’t have much love in them
For some reasons I cannot tell why
That I must extinguish this wildfire
Some fields shouldn’t be burnt to ash
Some hopes should never be ignited
Compulsion consumes all logic senses
Like combustion in a thrusting rocket engine
I must be cool, not too deep for love
Even though it’s the best thing in life
But it also tortures us often, like hell
It feeds us hope, or we digest despair
Love is a question I steal it from you
Someone gets it, someone don’t








Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Sonnet 114



Sonnet 114
Laijon Liu 20160608

Everything turns to agreeable as you see
Bitterness tastes sweet labor of honey bee
Eye can’t be trusted, only heart is true
And this the secret power of chemistry
Beauty and beast, dance among stars
Cute cherubic baby fed by ogre mummy
What’s good or bad? Can’t you see
Love makes everyone perfect in harmony?
Or, my eye and mind together deceive me
Trick my heart to another bumpy journey
My eye says “Take that lush path, into woods”
My minds says “Forward, never look back”
And my heart be mauled into pieces
When someone pieces them together, it spells _ _ _ _.









Sonnet 113



Sonnet 113
Laijon Liu 20160607

Since you left me, my mind is blank
That blindness leads everything I do
Time seems freeze or I lose track of it
Things move but I can’t feel motion
Your thoughts that you’ve never said to me before
Repeating now in my mind, about future concerns
Your wishes seem more real than our past
Or insomnia plays tricks on reality
What universe you are now, I wonder
And I’m still trapped in this 4 dimensional world
I just do not believe you are gone, never!
Along with all my love ones you still live in me.
Flesh is weak, but spirit incorruptible
Your thoughts, your love make you ever alive!












Tuesday, June 7, 2016

For My Brother



For My Brother
Laijon Liu 20160607

Mourn my cousin, Zhang Bo 1971 - 2016

Five years ago, at Dalian Airport
My cousin hugged me and said: “Take Care!”
Last night I phoned my long distance mom
She said: “Your brother past away on May 14th.”
Five years ago, I sat in his living room
We held arm and cried in front his wife
I talked that whole night about my misfortunes
And toils in America, he listened and cried
Thirty years ago, at our grandpa’s house
We were poverty kids, ignorant bred
We snuck out, to the zoo, to the beach
We together wild happy kind, slept in one bed
My Dear Brother! You are gone too soon!
You only 45! Your son only 5! and Your parents at 75!








Sunday, June 5, 2016

Sonnet 112



Sonnet 112
Laijon Liu 20160605

You exist so to know the world exist too
And in love your existence gains purpose
Why should you care about the world anyway?
Everyone has his own world that he lives in
People’s voice, eyes silenced in transit noise
Their faces erased, everyone minds his own concern
Crying, singing, shouting… that’s just life
Things pass, and you won’t notice the nuance
A circular wall like citadel guards you
That private space is inviolable, you must protect
You don’t care if the sky is falling and world on fire
As long as you and your love together in your world
What world to you if you don’t exist?
What world to you if you never find love?







Saturday, June 4, 2016

Sonnet 111



Sonnet 111
Laijon Liu 20160604

You know what redemption means?
That the price must be paid full
Forgiveness only applies to the repented
Who blames not society nor fate
Everyone has choices in every circumstance
To join the mob or go solo be undefiled
Gods do not make men, men make gods
The good the bad that hands heart directs
We need no potion to cure our hearts
Nor priest’s water cleanse bloody hand
The silence, the solitude, the bitterness
Makes a man to meditate his past
One must go that dark valley alone
To face his devil, to heal himself










Friday, June 3, 2016

Sonnet 110



Sonnet 110
Laijon Liu 20160603

Yup, you definitely a Player!
You’ve been everywhere and now you're back
And you still write some cheesy poems like this
Like you are such model lover. It’s so unfair!
Someone has everything shoveled to his face
And someone got nothing, begs around, still nothing
You are the one bets both side of the coin
Play a victim role, but a true aggressor
And now you call it off, you’ve done, tired
You repent, and say O you love the old taste,
How much you've missed it all and all
With your knee on the ground, you solemnly pray
And you kiss up to me say: “Oh, My Heaven!
Please embrace me, please save me. Meow~”









Sonnet 109



Sonnet 109
Laijon Liu 20160602

Living in a lie is dancing in a masked ball
One must know how to lip sync a falsetto
Artificial flowers perfect for all seasons
Beautiful wigs suit judges and high courts
You don’t know what fake truly is
Unless you are born and bred of it
The fabric of characters and culture distort
So you become a product forges counterfeit
The longest proud history is a gold front tooth
The wisdom of the letters viewed by glass eye
Power of imagination, impression, consumption
Is me, shaved off my pigtail and driving a corvette
For nothing in this world is valuable
If you can’t win, win and win all the time.










Thursday, June 2, 2016

Sonnet 108



Sonnet 108
Laijon Liu 20160601

In writing to find what I lack
That many grounds to excavate
The real you, newly discovered, unfamiliar
The overly-ambitious, false advertised me
And everything is like archaic characters
Hiding in some antique scrolls waiting
For all the pieces of puzzles to fit
There’re more stories behind your name
Eternity and love are two most difficult words
Give us lifetime sorrow and meanings of loss
New senses of pains, new feeling of discomfort
More in depth studies and acute definitions
We are many shapes and dimensions
We undergo many trials and cycles










Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Sonnet 107



Sonnet 107
Laijon Liu 20160531

Brave into the night, a moment of rush eternal
Behold the golden sun that never sets in your heart
Spring gently wriggles in you, feel that tremor
Those withered leaves are gaining fresh costume
Brittle wings gradually expand, intermitted flap
Melody of valley and caves wake from icy dream
Lustful wind returns, kisses, caresses everywhere
All things wild, to seize this temporary pleasure
Glory to our being, not to the wasted shame
Possess now what must be lost forever soon
Top speed, out of smog, out of reality
Nothing catches us till that final crash
Monuments? Crowns? Tombs?
I don’t wanna be buried alive.