Moon

little wee

little wee gets up to play
we are more than what we are
sometimes we may call it god
wee may call as soon as twelve
sometimes we may call it light
wee may call as soon as two
wee may always call at night

little wee wakes up to cry
we are less than what we are
wee may sleep as soon as noon
sometimes we may call it god
wee may call as late as eight
sometimes we can see the light
wee can call us any time
sometimes we can feel the night
sometimes wee can be alright

MW October 2007

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day is bright

the moon is halfway in the sky
the day is bright and blistering
the magpies and the sparrows sing
and feed on berries in the sun
the mulberry has lots of leaves
the maple leaves are dancing down
the roses might be growing still
the older bushes have some fruits
they could be tasty when it snows
the willows shake their yellow leaves
but many of them are still green
the day is bright and blistering
the moon is halfway in the sky
the kids are up, and trumpets sound
down by the school. they sing the same
and may they never live the words.

MW December 2007

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floating

floating slice of tangerine
sugar sprinkles in the sky
days of stellar air are rare
everything is hazy here
though the lights are promising.

MW December 2007

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to see you

it feels unreal each year again.

to see you means the joy of life.
you are in pain. you are alone
most of the time.
and you are ninety-six this year.
to see you means that life is good.
i have to go and see you soon.

it feels unreal each year we are away.

MW December 2007

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moon is round again tonight

moon is round again tonight
for november it is warm
we are downstairs looking up
wow, it looks just like the sun
why is it so big and white?
i don’t know. let’s go up now.
children ask a lot from you
we are very proud of them
moon is very far away.

MW November 2007

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moon is round

moon is round again tonight
though she looks a little dirty
it must be the grainy air
it must be the smog in beijing
where you are she may be fair

MW November 2007

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moon is up
– for Matthias Claudius

the moon is up and shining
the moon is up and shining
the moon is up and shining bright.

the moon eats up and drinks up
the moon eats up and drinks up
the moon eats up and drinks up, too.

the moon sleeps well and sleeps in
the moon sleeps well and sleeps in
the moon sleeps well and may sleep in.

MW November 2007

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father-in-law

we are very far away
you don’t get to see the kids
it is true. we are in beijing
we are translators in china
write and visit us more often

you are welcome at our place
kids would love to play with you
when they are a little older
you can have them for a week
you can take them on a trip
they can even stay with you

it was nice to visit you
although we were very tired
children loved to play with you
grandma came to visit us
all those years you never wrote

then you write a raging letter
everything is our fault
we are very far away
but your rage is not so bad
after all these silent years
finally you show some feelings

we’ll get jobs in europe soon
we’ll be not so far away
maybe you can leave your shell

MW November 2007

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(just one day of) desert storm

fall has gone and storm is here
everybody just pretends
close your eyes and stumble on
they know what the future brings

MW November 2007

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questions

are you really serious?
do you see in black and white?
are you with a bezoar?
did you steal a potions master?
are you going to the fair?
do you think it’s cold outside?
will i see it in your hair?
please be careful when you fly

MW November 2007

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moon is round again tonight

mond ist wieder einmal rund
fuer november war es warm
wir sind unten vor der stiege
schau, da oben ist der mond
wow, er sieht aus wie die sonne
warum ist er gross und weiss?
weiss ich nicht, sag ich zu maia
leo sagt ja noch nicht viel
ausser nein und mein
und komm und schau.
old and formidable friend
we are very far away.
have a good time
and write us soon.

MW November 2006

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golden fall

actually i like the light
actually i like the season
smells ok with wind and rain
sometimes even smells like home
home is when it smells like earth
sometimes when the air is blue
and there’s nothing i can do

MW October/November 2007

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night is full

the night is full of poetry
there is an 18th-storey hole
or maybe it is 22
it proudly grows across the street
the night is full of poetry
i like the windows at the front
the big ones, and the frames are white
and all the rest is scaffolding
the night is full of poetry
i like it when the air grows cold
and when the city starts to calm
i like the lull between the cars
the night is full of poetry
there is an 18th-storey house
or maybe it is 22
across from us in our yard
i like it somehow, actually
the night is full of poetry
we are the night, the listening
we are the bus at intervals
where people often let us sit

MW October 2007

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new paint

they’ve painted our houses grey
now they are fresh and smooth and grey
they had been shabby, used and white
now they are smooth and fresh and grey
they have installed new windows too
and all the sills are fresh and red
next year there are olympic games
they’ve painted many houses now
they’ve torn down many neighbourhoods
they’ve built a brand new capital
inside they wouldn’t do too much
there is a lot that’s left inside
inside the country all around
next year there are olympic games
they will be fresh and smooth and new

MW October 2007

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moon festival

it seems a long time since you’re gone
you should have come here every day
last night we looked up at the moon
we talked, and then you went away

the clouds are like they were last night
it was a pretty day today
last night we looked up at the moon
we talked, and then you went away

it seems a long time since you’re gone
i don’t know very much to say
we talked, and looked up at the moon
i know we’ll meet again some day

MW Sept.29, 2007

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there is nothing

there is nothing to describe
we are ordinary people
building up and tearing down
there is nothing to describe

there is nothing to explain
we are ordinary people
building up and tearing down
there is nothing to explain

there is nothing to remember
we are ordinary people
building up and tearing down
there is nothing to remember

there is nothing to expect
we are ordinary people
building up and tearing down
there is nothing to expect

there is nothing to regret
we are ordinary people
building up and tearing down
there is nothing to regret

there is nothing to forget
we are ordinary people
building up and tearing down
there is nothing to forget

MW August 2007

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two poems after wang wei (701-761)
zwei gedichte nach wang wei (701-761)

相思

红豆生南国，
春来发几枝
愿君多采撷
此物最相思

thinking of you

red beans grow in southern lands
sprout how many twigs in spring
please pick more this year for me
i will think of you with them

MW November 2007

im sueden

rote bohnen pflueck,
seit dem fruehling schon
wachsen sie bei dir.
pflueck nur viel davon!

MW August 2007

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送别

下马饮君酒，
问君何所之。
君言不得意，
归卧南山陲。
但去莫复问，
白云无尽时。

abschied

steig vom pferd und trink,
wohin reitest du?
kehrst betruebt zurueck
suedlich ins gebirg.
geh, ich frag nicht mehr
wenn die wolken ziehn.

MW August 2007

see you go

you get off and drink with me
and i ask you where you’re riding
you have not been satisfied
turn to southern border mountains
and i won’t ask you again
clouds are streaming without end.

MW November 2007

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next time around

i am a rock next time around
what will you be in your next life?
what will you be when you are dead?
the question is not accurate
there is no world next time around
when we are tired, it is here
and in the morning, god be willing
i’m paper then next time around

next time around i am a child
what will you be in your next life?
what will you be when you are dead?
the question is not accurate
there is no world next time around
it is with us, when we are there
and in the morning, god be willing
my child is here this time around

MW August 2007

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of you and me
– for harry potter

there is a ministry of magic
there is a ministry of love
there is a world of fantasy
there is a crass society
there is a time

MW September 2007

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for early may

the days are hot for early may.
the night is fine
the kids are fine especially.
every beginning has its magic
and grants protection for our life.
i begin to think of you
you are 65 this year
you are 96 this year.
und jedem anfang wohnt ein zauber inne
der uns beschuetzt, und der uns hilft zu leben.
we wish you happy mother’s day
i have known you both for 40 years
my mother and my grandmother
and now you get to know our kids.
the day is hot. there was some rain
the earth is parched again today.
we have a roof
and bread on the shelf
we have it warm
and water on tap
it’s nice that way.
and we have a bed.
oh lord, if everybody
had all that.

MW May 2007

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x and y

x was cruel
butt is sore
y was able
and suave.

both loved culture
both destroyed
hundred million
butts are cold

MW March 2007

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september morning

i kiss you in the morning light
i hear the morning sounds of birds
i see the flowers on the roof
it should have rained a while ago
but it is cool
and you are warm

MW September 2007

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just around the river bend

just around the river bend
fair around the next great curve
honest in another life
just around the river bend

MW 2005

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there is nothing to describe

there is nothing to describe
they are all construction workers
tearing down and building up
there is nothing to describe
they are children full of songs
european marching tunes
shouting, waving up and down
there is nothing to describe
they are dancing autumn leaves
they are soaring flocks of birds
there is early heat this year
in the city’s radiators
there is nothing to describe
they are selling groceries
and the european car
all decked out in darken’d windows
tramples little cabbagge leaves
they are sold illegally
there is nothing to describe
they are ancient city moats
everybody keeping fit
they are trying to get by
they are standing on the street
they are selling vcd
there is nothing to describe
there is everything to buy
this is beijing, after all

MW 2004

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the world

the world is getting empty and cold.
there is room for the mind
and then there is snow.
there is a thunderstorm outside
and beijing is white;
and they are actually heating the city in early november,
and the snow stays on
just to make sure.
the willows still had all their leaves
and so they broke down, and many other trees.
it is a wonderful winter day
and people are nice to foreign babies.
one week ago
we went to the park round the earth altar
and maia played with the gingko leaves
and bigger ones in many colours.
we talked about falls
of dynasties and decay.
and not feeling safe.
and proving yourself, and then we went home
and ate xiaolongbao on the way through the maze
of little lanes and lots of construction.
the magpies liked it among the leaves,
i guess they’ll be fine
throughout the winter for a while.
it felt like snow
and smelled like in winter wheniI was a child in the holidays in a place in the alps
although it was rain
just a few days ago that i felt on the roof after it fell after a month
or less of dryness, the year was wet.
we wish you all a merry winter
and may we be happy together
again some day soon.
the sun is out, we went with maia
to see the roses in the snow
and sunday service, and listen to music
and pizza and salad and then dozing off
on the bicycle and also upstairs,
but not quite enough as it always happens although at last she is quiet now.
we bought her shoes which are warm and comfy in a little store along the way,
after leading her out on the bike in her sandals and a skiing suit.
her butt is healing, her cheeks have spots,
she has ten teeth, the big one likes her,
the older sister who looks like four,
is one and a half other children’s size
and sounds like her father. MAIA, said she, MAIA,
as often as MAMA or PAPA when we had staid for a while. I should be working
to finish a book and start on another and drink some tea.

MW 2003

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wan bao

wan bao, wan bao!
zao you zao bao
wan you wan bao
bu shi bu bao
shijian wei dao

MW 1998

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late reports

evening papers!
late reports
they were shooting in the sky
finally we have some rain in beijing
latest stories from tibet
sound like taiwan ’47
taiwan and tibet in china
they are different views of china
vietnam or mongolia
there are many different views
wanbao, wanbao!
zao you zaobao
wan you wanbao
bushi bu bao
shijian wei dao

MW March 2008