Monday, December 14, 2015

New York Subway

New York Subway - A Ride to Dream
Laijon Liu 20151214

Now, For 7 Line Riders
The Far West Side is
No Longer Far.           -NY MTA

Morning 5-6 o'clock
new immigrants on the train
half asleep, half conscious
some of them on their way to work
others off long hour night-shift to home
their stressed expression, wrinkled shirts
worn out working boots and uniforms...

they speak my language, mixed English and...
poor grammar short sentences in strange accents...
they never have time and energy to learn
they don't give shit, that's how they can stay and survive

7-8 o'clock
young students with backpack
immigrant and native kids with New York accent
on their way to school
to see what their nation has promised them
they ride upbeat and know their metro system
better than their textbook and changing neighborhoods
their baseball hats, football jerseys, and basketball sneakers
all that their parents paid for them

9-10 o'clock
Native residents, career successful office people
in their brand name fashionable dress and suits stand on the train
they never have to rush to punch their time cards
bury their faces in new york times and expensive glossy magazines
they seem in control of their time and work
their parents built the subway
their parents or great grandparents rode early morning train

trains rock from stop to stop
there are finance, luxury shopping, and entertainment districts
there are new immigrant concentrated and crime neighborhoods
train rock from station to station
passengers get on and get off
going somewhere
in this great multi-culture megacity
going somewhere
in their own worlds, in their own heads
going somewhere
like the NYC Metro routine, on schedule always
to that forever unreachable destination




Tuesday, November 3, 2015

The Golden Apple

The Golden Apple
Laijon Liu 20151103

i
Yes, my beautiful goddesses
you can make me honorable and famous
and grant me cities of gold
but I wouldn't trade my giggles and laughter

jewel crown set upon my gray hair
maidens in white satin serve me wine
their soothing voice sings me into mellow dreams
but fear and tears are more precious in life

ambrosia and nectar ease my wrinkles
but in the wash pan my Helen's face still shimmers
by the campfire, at our fleeting night
we cuddled and trembled, we were cold and hungry.

ii
the world gets mad when we fall in love
gods throw tantrum because we choose each other
behind us, chasing armies and swearing kings
their men up in arms hunting for our trail

desperate battle cries, men's solemn chants
broken spears and blood in burnt fields
fires and smokes died down in city ruins
these are wedding gifts from the blind Bard









Saturday, September 12, 2015

Serve. Rally. Roar.

Serve. Rally. Roar.

On the 7 train back to Queens after my sat. soccer game, I saw a great three word poem done by US Tennis Association:

Serve.
Rally.
Roar.

the writer is sharp and poetic like Don Draper, only 3 words capture the player motion, strive, spirit and watching fans' emotion, the player and audience naturally blend into 3 words. I couldn't google the exact advertising image on the web, so I find some other tennis match photos for this cool poem.




Saturday, August 8, 2015

Big House Burns


Big House Burns
Laijon Liu 2015.08.08

wall is for protection
door is to shut outsiders out
window is to peek the outside
backyard for kids to play, and friends’ beer chat

Houses are past down thru generations
they’re nation’s treasures or family’s legacy
but I’m thrilled seeing big houses burn:
Temples, Summer Palace, Plantations, Global Corps...

because when a house gets too big
the owner hires slaves to maintain it. 
My friend said: “we ought to be live in containers.”
I said: “yeah, when we are all drunk.”















Monday, July 27, 2015

Boy and His Sandcastle

Boy and His Sandcastle
Laijon Liu 20150727

a boy on the summer beach
is building his sandcastle
he's happy and singing
while the sands flow through his hands

wishes in buckets, stack up to small dunes
bridges and cathedrals gradually appear
behind him, the low tides creep
and slowly creep into my heart








Saturday, June 6, 2015

Poetry

Poetry
Laijon Liu 20150606

Thunderbolts flash in the night sky
Earth revives under the rumbling clouds
Soon- comes that long-awaited rain
Soon- the sun rises in rainbow dress






Thursday, May 21, 2015

Falling Snail

Falling Snail
Laijon Liu 20150521

You let go of the tree branch, the longest distance
and the highest spot you've ever reached.
the wind streams now, and stationary world
becomes a whirling rainbow

Finally, a lifetime of forward endeavor
upward crawl, and bearing that heavy shell
is traded for one second rush










Monday, May 11, 2015

Three Very Funny Pictures

 Three Very Funny Pictures I recently screen-captured from Answer.com 



Friday, May 8, 2015

Who is your Superhero?

Who is your Superhero?
Laijon Liu 20150508

Superman? Batman? Spiderman?
Ironman? Xman? Matrix Neil? 
or the master cook Walter White?

Mine is Ordinary Men
They are so brave, they dare to walk
in this world with no superpower

All they can do is
to dog, duck, and chicken out
their appearance makes the dark part of stage

They don't have fans
their names and stories never been told
their numbers counted by millions, billions

but they pass down mankind
carry on our evolution
they born, breed, labor, and die
and be Ever Hopeful








Work ants and work bees

Work ants and work bees
Laijon Liu 20150508

Work ants and work bees
they labor from sunrise to sundown
build their hives and colonies

they're dedicated, disciplined, loyal
tech savvy and self-sacrificial
united & alone they guard their empire hierarchy

they're zombies, brain dead
like slave never lived, and never survive
never try to mate their queen or sit on the throne




Bee
Tang. Luo Yin

Everywhere from flatlands to hilltops,
a vast landscape they have occupied.
And after all flowers're gathered, honey made,
for whom they've labored and sweet they offer?


罗隐

不论平地与山尖,
无限风光尽被占.
采得百花成蜜后,
为谁辛苦为谁甜?


Thursday, May 7, 2015

自憐

自憐
Laijon Liu 20150506

孤貧打自小,飄泊少年心。
父母各天涯,異國無知音。
頑志空堅持,琴書總未達。
事事不堪望,恆願落香灰。








Monday, April 27, 2015

Ming poet Chen ZiLong 陈子龙 横云山石壁铭

Ming poet Chen ZiLong 陈子龙 横云山石壁铭



Sunday, April 26, 2015

ISBN#978-7-5458-0126-2 Old Shanghai Travel Book with Poems and Newspaper Drawings

An Very Cute Old Book
ISBN#978-7-5458-0126-2 Old Shanghai Travel Book with Poems and Newspaper Drawings

There's a Chinese bookstore on Elizabeth St. in Chinatown NY. I often go dig up some good books there. On Sat I discovered a book written by a Qing Dynasty author, Old Shanghai Travel Guide Booklet (1st published 1876),  contain a poem and a newspaper drawing on each page, total 356 drawings, two Chinese poems depict Qing Opium dudes truly funny, load them up here for some laugh:)









Friday, April 24, 2015

Old Age

Old Age
Laijon Liu 20150424

Mirror reflects presence and recalls our past
old age with grey hair is but a wrinkled coat

Am I this? Were I that? Our prime, a hologram
Gold satin has faded, becomes ashy bandage

Strip off the heavy shell and the dead skin
Life must embrace sunlight and Mother Earth





Saturday, April 4, 2015

Nightbloom Cereus

Nightbloom Cereus
Laijon Liu 20150404

Those years of mild sun rays and lucid dews
your seasons of tranquility among the blooms
last night, under the golden moonlight
your fragrant heart suddenly bloomed-
For whom? -and quickly faded into memory.





Sunday, March 29, 2015

Li Po's Great Roc Poem

Li Po's Great Roc Poem[1]
Translated by Laijon Liu 20150329

Great roc one day rises with the wind,
He twisters upward ninety thousand miles[2].
If the wind's calm and he comes down,
Still he can churn the mighty sea waves.
People see me and my oddball speech,
They see my bragging and they all sneer.
Even Confucius respected his pupils,
Gentlemen should not ignore young adults[3].

Note:
[1] Poem original title: To Li Yong, he was a Tang calligraphy artist, held a local official job, a friend of Li Po, Tu Fu and Gao Shi.
[2] miles literal translation: li, ancient measurement
[3] young adults literal translation: young of age

Chinese Original:
上 李 邕
  李 白
  大鵬一日同風起,
  扶搖直上九萬裏。
  假令風歇時下來,
  猶能簸卻滄溟水。
  時人見我恒殊調,
  見余大言皆冷笑。
  宣父猶能畏後生,
  丈夫未可輕年少。




Thursday, March 26, 2015

詠李廣

詠李廣
Laijon Liu

拔劍吟悲歌,
醉射白羽沒。
万軍奪騎飛,
千古一將雄!

Rereading Sima Qian's Historic Record reminds my old Chinese poem done years ago, about Han Dynasty's flying general Li Guang, a poetic tragic figure, his career misfortune done a better service on pages and stages than to his lifetime desire.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Dark Memories

Dark Memories
Laijon Liu 20150324

Dark memories stream out of bat caves
patch the patterns of nights
those cut and sawed fragments, countless

like crawling bangle stripes or leopard spots
quietly tailing a lost zebra
gradually, all vanish into white desert




Monday, March 9, 2015

Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls
Laijon Liu 20150309

gushing, roaring, and pouring
forward- is to freefall, to farewell and to self-undo
forward- is to sink the past, and face future uncertainty
forward- is also to rise, to renew, and to reborn

drawn and dive into that immense gravity
smash and splash that overpowering energy
new settlers come forth at your foot
offer up their wish, bonding, and own-selves






Friday, February 13, 2015

Rose

Rose
Laijon Liu 20150213

piercing thorns cannot shield your fragrant heart
ruby folded layers tightly clench your secret yearning
You, with Aphrodite's beauty, praised by the world

and doomed to be the crown jewel
only to be cut off from branch, and sold
as symbol of love bonding


Friday, February 6, 2015

Two Great Yuan Qu Poems


Two Great Yuan Qu Poems

Autumn Thoughts
by Ma ZhiYuan (1250-1321)
秋思
马致远 

枯藤,老树,昏鸦, 
Withered vine, Old tree, Dusky crows,
小桥,流水,人家, 
Small bridge, Flowing water, Folk's hut,
古道,西风,瘦马。 
Ancient road, West wind, Thin horse.
夕阳西下,
Evening sun declines westward,
断肠人在天涯。
Heart-broken person at far corner of the earth.
-----------------------------------------------
Autumn
by Bai Pu (1226-1306)

白朴 

孤村,落日,残霞,
Solitary village, Setting sun, Sparse rosy clouds,
轻烟,老树,寒鸦,
Scarce [chimney] smoke, Old trees, Cold crows,
一点飞鸿影下。
Beneath the dot-shadow of a flying swan,
青山,绿水,
Green hills, Emerald water
白草,红叶,黄花。
Bleach grass, Red leaves, [and] Yellow blooms.




Monday, February 2, 2015

Red Pill and Blue Pill

Red Pill and Blue Pill
Laijon Liu 20150202

I swallowed the red pill, and I saw Alice
float facedown in lime spring river
her blond hair and pink polkadot skirt 
covered by rose petals and blood
slowly disperse in the tear ripples

I swallowed the blue pill, and I saw Alice
chase a black-suit rabbit, and fall down 
into a black hole, infinite gold light-rays
swirl, myriad pink distorted oval balloons
and her bell laughter forever echo 

It was a bored drowsy afternoon
on the riverbank I saw Alice and her sister
they were fishing and catching butterflies
by accident I tripped over, by accident
my shotgun discharged.

Friday, January 30, 2015

Red Crane (Flamingo) by Xin Mu, The Swan by FS Flint

Red Crane (Flamingo)
by Xin Mu (1943-)

One flamingo descends
one red bloom is planted on the lake;
A flock of flamingo descend
the whole lake is covered by red blooms.

One flamingo ascends
slits a bleeding wound in the sky;
A flock of flamingo ascend
the sky bleeds a blood river.

Original Chinese poem:
红鹤
辛牧(1943-

一只红鹤落下
在湖里插上一朵红花
一群红鹤落下
在湖里插上整湖红花

一只红鹤飞起
在天空划开一道伤口
一群红鹤飞起
天空便血流成河

also reminds another great poem

The Swan
by Mr. FS Flint

Under the lily shadow
and the gold   
and the blue and mauve                 
that the whin and the lilac     
pour down on the water,        
the fishes quiver.        

Over the green cold leaves    
and the rippled silver         
and the tarnished copper       
of its neck and beak,  
toward the deep black water 
beneath the arches,    
the swan floats slowly.                   

Into the dark of the arch the swan floats      
and the black depth of my sorrow     
bears a white rose of flame.

The Swan more color and emotional, Flamingo is simple.






Thursday, January 29, 2015

The Cracks

The Cracks
Laijon Liu 20150128

My dry lips crack, my dry fingertips split
like the retinal vessels crisscross in my eyes
it's symptom of malnutrition and dehydration

the frozen earth, city roads crack too
and they gradually grow into me, like cerebral fissures
dissecting brain functions, experience, and hope



Monday, January 26, 2015

The Rokeby Venus

The Rokeby Venus
Laijon Liu 20150126




like a pearly stream of cool bubbling spring
you amble through the sizzling summer night 
your tresses- fragrance shrouds your bedchamber

lying on your linen couch, you look into Cupid's glass 
your goddess smile ripples, outside, above your flowerbed
that low-hanging plump gold moon

Friday, January 23, 2015

Beauty of Woman

Beauty of Woman
Laijon Liu 20150123

June is your smile, July is your eyes
and August must be your song
sunshine brings blazing colors of summer's day

Beauty exists. Yes! it's also in your broken heart
like midnight violin plays melancholic tune
slowly echoes your memory of black & blue

A mother cradling her infant child, sings lullaby
her babe is her world, her child is her savior
and in her arms her baby sweetly sleeps

Those red maple leaves, frosted evergreen twigs
like your wrinkles through the passing years
permanently beautiful, permanently warm

Note:
For moms, grandmas, women raising their family.

Snowdome Dream

Snowdome Dream
Laijon Liu 20150123

Granny's music-box, plays an old fairy's song
tracing a set of wolf footprints
you'll find a gray castle in the woods

there snowflake twirl, there winter ever world
there a maiden in slumber, and she dreams
a pair of crystal shoes


Monday, January 19, 2015

Wild Horse, and Herd of Wild Horses by Poet Zhou Tao

Wild Horse
Laijon Liu 20150119



Winds are my bones, storms are my thoughts
pastures and plateaus erect my soul
life is stride and howl!

forever running, forever- non-stop
tune to the heartbeats of Earth, glide in Night's gown
Forward- my youth! Go- erase the sunset!


Painting:
Xu Beihong's Galloping Horse.

Chinese:
野马

狂风是我的骨头,风暴是我的思想
绿地和高原使我的灵魂勃起
生命是大步和长啸!

永远奔驰,永远- 不停歇
聆听大地的心跳,披著夜的晚装舞蹈
前进- 我的青春!去- 涂掉夕阳!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

the following a much better poem about Wild Horse done by a contemporary Chinese poet, environment  change horses as experience-soaked poets, my wild horse lived in a good comfortable land, his herd of wild horses truly lived, strove in battle, desert, wilderness, and storm.


野马群
Herd of Wild Horses
周涛
by Poet Zhou Tao (1946-

兀立荒原
erect standing in the wasteland
任漠风吹散长鬃
let desert wind blow their carefree manes
引颈怅望远方天地之交
stretching their necks gaze at the far joint of the Earth and sky
那永远不可企及的地平线
that forever unreachable horizon
三五成群
three [or] five gather in herd
以空旷天地间的鼎足之势
to be a tripod leg force of cauldron balancing vast land and sky
组成一幅相依为命的画面
formed a scene of dependent on each other for survival.

同是马的一族
same as a clan of horse
却与众马不同
yet different as most of them
那拖曳于灌丛之上的粗尾
their thick tail skirts dragged above the bush
披散胸颈额前的乱鬃
hanging loose manes on their breasts, necks and foreheads
未经梳理和修饰
not combed or decorated
落满尘沙的背脊
sand dust covered their back
不曾备过镶银的鞍具
that never mounted with crafted silver saddle
强健的臀部
broad rump and thighs
没有铁的烙印
not marked with branding iron
在那桀骜不驯的野性的眼睛里
in those intractable untamed eyes
很难找到一点温顺
cannot find a bit of meekness.

汗血马的后代
Breed of the Blood Sweating Horse
突厥铁骑的子孙
Descendants of Ancient Armour Cavalry Turkics
一次酷烈的战役中
once in a violent heated battle
侥幸生存下来的
by luck survived
古战场的遗民
the ancient battlefield adherents
荒凉土地的历史见证
to be the wittiness of history in this desolate land.

昔日马中的贵族
the past noble horse breed
失去了华贵的马厩
lost their royal stable
沦为荒野中的流浪者
reduced to be wanderers in wilderness
面临濒于灭绝的威胁
facing the threat of extinction
与狼群周旋
dealing with wolf packs
追逐水草于荒漠
chasing water grass in desert
躲避捕杀的枪口
dodging the kill of muzzles
但是,即使袭来旷世的风暴
and, even facing the coming of century storm
它们也是不肯跪着求生的一群
they're not a herd that willing to kneel and beg for life.

也有过
and it happened
于暮色降临之时
under the declining dusk
悄悄地
[they] quietly
接近牧人的帐篷
approached near to the herdsmen's tent
呼吸着人类温暖的气息
inhaling the warm odor of human
垂首静听那神秘的语言和笑声
lowering their heads to listen mysterious voice and laughters
潜藏于血液中的深情
[that] deep affection buried in their blood
从野性的灵魂里唤醒
awakened from their wild spirit
一种浪子对故土的怀念
a yearning like prodigal son to homeland
使它们久久地
made them [stand still] for a long while
默然凝神
with silent concentrated attention
可是只需一声犬吠
but only a sound of dog bark
又会使它们
made them
消失得无踪无影
vanish without a trace.

牧人循声而出
herdsmen out of their tent
遥望那群疾不可追的
staring at those far uncatchable accelerating
隐匿于夜色之中的黑影
dark shadows immerse into night
会轻轻地说:
and gently said:
哟嗬,野马群……
ah, [a] herd of wild horses......

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Thoughts, Winter Withered Branches

Thoughts, Winter Withered Branches
Laijon Liu 20150113




My thoughts sprout out like winter withered branches
reaching their entangled arms upward at the sky 
spring breeze in dreams, warm embrace in nest

those gray elongated, meandering, suffocating trunks 
tightly wrap around a cracked eggshell
waiting for hatch, aspire to launch

Saturday, January 10, 2015

The Thinker

The Thinker
Laijon Liu 20150110




the world weighs down
on his neck and shoulders

so he sits, and takes deep bow
to generate his utmost strength

his knee supports his elbow
his hand supports his chin, his frowning eyes shut

above him, the infinite cosmos vanishes,
becomes singularity, the burden of existence

his dead wife still smiles at him in his dream
or he's still searching for his long lost son?

he strips himself nude
wearing only his stony strain muscles and rough skin

let the scorching sun and the freezing rain
rub his silent stillness.

Note:
Rodin's The Thinker, Atlas and Hercules.

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Heart A Spider Web


Heart, A Spider Web
Laijon Liu 20150104

My heart slowly spits out a spiral web

that symmetric framework of time and solitude
only to catch moonlight and cold dewdrops

those thin fragile tangled silky strings
tremble at birds chirp and lover's hum
suddenly smashed by a pair of flowery wings

II

threads of device, gaps to flee
on this center stage of labyrinth
fate directs tragedy and uncertainty

hearts on eight legs, climb and crawl
clinging in wind, hair-raising
torrid kisses, and night drowns in wine

III

between earth and heaven, a cast wide net
that cuts off living, and unknown universe
mind paces behind those indestructible wires

one must endure hunger, endure rains
one must endure silence and patiently wait
a predator is Nature's prey

IV

heart-shaped triangles, oval galaxies
infinite designs spin off in lotus blooms
a single crystal strand ties love and foes

backtrack traces, unfasten knots
wipe off dawn project for a sable sail
unquenchable desire, restless thoughts

V

every vibration, and slight stress on strings
connect your feeling to my senses
your perseverance, your desperation

force in distance, and Earth gravity
together construct matters of harmony
our existence is defined in relation

VI

constellations, branches and veins
through a cracked telescope lens
that worlds hold many centers, are fallen

a seraph flaps his fractured wings
a nymph tries on her red-cobra nightgown
constant outward reach, toward that inward goal

VII

everything is made broken, everything
tattered, shattered, deformed, every piece
and we try to keep them as whole

spinning kaleidoscope, rotating carousel
every fabric of mirage glistens
in a perfect geometric realm

VIII

I saw myself hanging in the void
dangling
so now I sway, and sway

I felt sea waves of stars falling on me
piling on me
I laughed, and laughed wildly