Neal Whitman, US

 

 

Four Songs of Tzu-Yeh   Tzu-Yeh is the name of a legendary wineshop girl in 4th century China who wrote song-poems. Whether or not there was such a person, this is a form of poetry named for her. It is rendered in four couplets and the challenge for the contemporary poet, who might be female or male, young or old, Oriental or Occidental, is to convey a down-to-earth, folk-like "shop girl" experience.   1. Shining   Awake? if awake, joy      in the waking hour in the wee waking hour      stretch stretch iron pot and bamboo whisk      morning tea hyacinths and biscuits      breakfast fare     2. Walking   the ash slat boardwalk      welcomes me nodding to passersby      we know our way unlock the iron gate      the shop is mine alone soon customers arrive      my crescent smile     3. Ending   a moon sliver      at the edge of twilight appears against the tender blue      of early night. how weak is the light      and my promise not to miss him if I had been capable of a song      I would have sung it     4. Longing   the orchid I brought home      from the street stall last week has turned a dismal hue      standing alone night is a monotonous period      when only one cricket crickets and not one cares for me      tonight tonight