Haibun
Ilha Formosa?
Sendai
earthquake...
the darkness pierced
only by flashlights
The news about
Japan's tsunami-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant
saddens and frightens me. I worry so much about the long-term
health risks for Japan and its neighbors that I find myself
tossing and turning at night, knowing my homeland, Taiwan, is
one of the closest.
Fukushima—
the vending machines
still glowing
I remember one day
during the late 1990s at the height of the anti-nuclear movement
in Taiwan, someone handed me a flyer on the street. It listed
all the important instructions on how to survive a nuclear
disaster. The last one on the list said: "When driving away in
the rescue convoy, please remember to look back, because that
will be your last sight of Taipei."
radioactive
scare
this a world of dew
and yet...
Note:In 1544, a Portuguese ship sighted the main island of
Taiwan and named it "Ilha Formosa," which means “Beautiful
Island.” Taipei is its capital.
The Same Moon
Li Po and Du Fu Drank to?
I hold the glass to
the light, and then tip it, checking color and density as it
thins out towards the brim.
I take a deep drink, letting it surge through my mouth and send
out the waves of loneliness across my shoulders and down my
spine as I look out the window.
autumn moonlight
drips between the leaves...
another glass of wine
Note: Li Po and Du
Fu have been regarded as two of the greatest Chinese poets. Li
Po was part of the group called the "Eight Immortals of the Wine
Cup", as mentioned in a poem by Du Fu.
