Debra Sisson, “Pine Overlook”
First, a note on the death of comic essayist David Rakoff this past Thursday. David visited St. Mary’s in May and I posted here on his homage to E. B. White’s Stuart Little and what the dandified white mouse meant to a young gay boy.
And now, a summer poem. Farida from Uganda, a regular reader and contributor to this blog, has sent me a poem that reminds me of the hikes I take while vacationing in Maine. (Oh, and congratulations, Farida, on Ugandan Stephen Kiprotich upsetting the Kenyans and winning gold in the marathon.)
In the Mountains on a Summer Day
by Li Po
(translated by Arthur Waley)
Gently I stir a white feather fan,
With open shirt sitting in a green wood.
I take off my cap and hang it on a jutting stone;
A wind from the pine-trees trickles on my bare head.
A note on the artist: The painting can be found at www.dailypainters.com/paintings/77309/Pine-Overlook-Oil-Landscape-Forest-Mountain-Rocks-Trees/Debra-Sisson
2 Comments
Lovely. Thanks, Farida. I need to remember how a short poem can quickly get to the heart of a matter and leave a strong impression.
Sue, my favorite short poem..I think Robin has mentioned here before. Mohammad Ali, at a Harvard graduation ceremony, when asked to give them a poem said:
“Me, we.”
Robin,
I missed him beating the Kenyans because I was dealing with a carpenter! Got back into the house to find the Kenyans hadn’t won.. from prison warden to Olympic gold medalist national hero in one race.. ..Life….