Climbing West Of Lotus Flower Peak by Li Po

Amongst the grandeur of Hua Shan
I climb to the Flower Peak,
and fancy I see fairies and immortals
carrying lotus in their
sacred white hands, robes flowing
they fly filling the sky with colour
as they rise to the palace of heaven,
inviting me to go to the cloud stage
and see Wei Shu-ching, guardian angel
of Hua Shan; so dreamily I go with them
riding to the sky on the back
of wild geese which call as they fly,
but when we look below at Loyang,
not so clear because of the mist,
everywhere could be seen looting
armies, which took Loyang, creating
chaos and madness with blood
flowing everywhere; like animals of prey
rebel army men made into officials
with caps and robes to match.

Bringing in the Wine by Li Po

See how the Yellow River's water move out of heaven.

Entering the ocean, never to return.

See how lovely locks in bright mirrors in high chambers,

Though silken-black at morning, have changed by night to snow.

... Oh, let a man of spirit venture where he pleases

And never tip his golden cup empty toward the moon!

Since heaven gave the talent, let it be employed!

Spin a thousand of pieces of silver, all of them come back!

Cook a sheep, kill a cow, whet the appetite,

And make me, of three hundred bowls, one long drink!

... To the old master, Tsen,

And the young scholar, Tan-chiu,

Bring in the wine!

Let your cups never rest!

Let me sing you a song!

Let your ears attend!

What are bell and drum, rare dishes and treasure?

Let me br forever drunk and never come to reason!

Sober men of olden days and sages are forgotten,

And only the great drinkers are famous for all time.

... Prince Chen paid at a banquet in the Palace of Perfection

Ten thousand coins for a cask of wine, with many a laugh and quip.

Why say, my host, that your money is gone?

Go and buy wine and we'll drink it together!

My flower-dappled horse,

My furs worth a thousand,

Hand them to the boy to exchange for good wine,

And we'll drown away the woes of ten thousand generation!

Amidst The Flowers A Jug Of Wine by Li Po

Amidst the flowers a jug of wine,

I pour alone lacking companionship.

So raising the cup I invite the Moon,

Then turn to my shadow which makes three of us.

Because the Moon does not know how to drink,

My shadow merely follows the movement of my body.

The moon has brought the shadow to keep me company a while,

The practice of mirth should keep pace with spring.

I start a song and the moon begins to reel,

I rise and dance and the shadow moves grotesquely.

While I'm still conscious let's rejoice with one another,

After I'm drunk let each one go his way.

Let us bind ourselves for ever for passionless journeyings.

Let us swear to meet again far in the Milky Way.

Alone And Drinking Under The Moon by Li Po

Amongst the flowers I
am alone with my pot of wine
drinking by myself; then lifting
my cup I asked the moon
to drink with me, its reflection
and mine in the wine cup, just
the three of us; then I sigh
for the moon cannot drink,
and my shadow goes emptily along
with me never saying a word;
with no other friends here, I can
but use these two for company;
in the time of happiness, I
too must be happy with all
around me; I sit and sing
and it is as if the moon
accompanies me; then if I
dance, it is my shadow that
dances along with me; while
still not drunk, I am glad
to make the moon and my shadow
into friends, but then when
I have drunk too much, we
all part; yet these are
friends I can always count on
these who have no emotion
whatsoever; I hope that one day
we three will meet again,
deep in the Milky Way.

2nd Version

Beneath the blossoms with a pot of wine,

No friends at hand, so I poured alone;

I raised my cup to invite the moon,

Turned to my shadow, and we became three.

Now the moon had never learned about drinking,

And my shadow had merely followed my form,

But I quickly made friends with the moon and my shadow;

To find pleasure in life, make the most of the spring.

Whenever I sang, the moon swayed with me;

Whenever I danced, my shadow went wild.

Drinking, we shared our enjoyment together;

Drunk, then each went off on his own.

But forever agreed on dispassionate revels,

We promised to meet in the far Milky Way.

Drinking Alone by Li Po

I take my wine jug out among the flowers

to drink alone, without friends.

I raise my cup to entice the moon.

That, and my shadow, makes us three.

But the moon doesn't drink,

and my shadow silently follows.

I will travel with moon and shadow,

happy to the end of spring.

When I sing, the moon dances.

When I dance, my shadow dances, too.

We share life's joys when sober.

Drunk, each goes a separate way.

Constant friends, although we wander,

we'll meet again in the Milky Way.

Li T'ai-po

Stress Proof Person by Priscilla Ravane

To soft gentle sounds from nature

To dialogs that sustain relationships

To music lifting the heart and soul

To angel choirs boasting the spirit

Of the whole person, the still,

Small voice within, the conscience form,

The color, the form, the silhouette

Of things concrete, the light radiating from

The sun, moon and stars, the grandeur,

The beauty of the whole creation

The innate goodness of a person

The softness of pussycat, the smoothness

And roughness of a flower, the grains of rice and corn

The delicate skin of the baby,

Radiating innocence

The forgiveness sown and reaped

The coolness of the water quenching thirst

The tenderness of tap on the shoulder

The sweetness of a friend’s smile, love

Lightening the load, lifting the heart

Acholi Land! by Okema Leonard, Uganda

Acholiland oh acholiland,

The once happy mother of proud warriors,

To you we wail,

For redemption from the fangs of terror,

The terror that bleeds us white,

The terror that siphons your blood

that runs in our veins,

Lambs without a shepherd we remain,

Driven away from you into the darkness,

Mama we yearn for an end to our misgivings,

Oh! Acholiland,

Do you hear us when we call out to you?

When our cries run our voices frail,

When wantons hunt us, your children down,

The harmony you taught us is no more,

Your children have learnt the little art of

unleashing terror,

Unfortunately on your very siblings,

Pain is all we feel and grim is what we see,

Blood is what we pay for being your children,

Oh! Mother, spread your wings and redeem

us, to rise and shine again.

A Friend by Keno

I've still been searching

And long have I waited

For someone to like me as me

To laugh with, To cry with

To be just beside with

A friend that's who I need

To fight with, Make up with

To know that you need them

Believing that they need you, too

To walk hand in hand with

To argue to talk with

A friend that's who I need

And even though

I make mistakes

And never do anything right

A smile, a hug

Can change all that

And everything will be alright

Someone who'll share

All my dreams and ambitions

Someone who'll love me as me

I need this person

Someone to rely on

A friend that's who I need

A friend that's who I need

Kids React to Bullying

http://www.youtube.com/v/Xre8zZ_B8Mk?version=3&f=standard&app=youtube_gdata

Marriages Are Made by Eunice deSouza

My cousin Elena

is to be married

The formalities

have been completed:

her family history examined

for T.B. and madness

her father declared solvent

her eyes examined for squints

her teeth for cavities

her stools for the possible

non-Brahmin worm.

She's not quite tall enough

and not quite full enough

(children will take care of that)

Her complexion it was decided

would compensate, being just about

the right shade

of rightness

to do justice to

Francisco X. Noronha Prabhu

good son of Mother Church.

The Sea by Kahlil Gibran

In the still of the night

As man slumbers behind the folds,

the forest proclaims:

    "I am the power

    Brought by the sun from

    The heart of the earth."

The sea remains quiet, saying to itself,

    "I am the power."

The rock says,

    "The ages erected me as a monument

    Until the Judgment Day."

The sea remains silent saying to itself,

    "I am the monument."

The wind howls

    "I am strong,

    I separate the heavens from the earth."

The sea remains quiet, saying to itself,

    "The wind is mine."

The river says

    "I am the pure water

    That quenches the thirst of the earth."

The sea remains silent saying to itself,

    "The river is mine."

The summit says,

    "I stand high like a star

    In the center of the sky."

The sea remains quiet saying to itself,

    "The summit is mine."

The brain says,

    "I am a ruler;

    The world is in those who rule."'

The sea remains slumbering saying, in its sleep,

    "All is mine."

About Khalil Gibran

Me (Aku)

When my time comes

I want to hear no one’s cries,

Nor yours either

Away with all who cry!

Here I am, a wild beast,

Cut off from his companions

Bullets may pierce my skin

But I’ll keep on,

Carrying forward my wounds and my pain,

Attacking,

Attacking,

Until suffering disappears

And I won’t care anymore

I want to live another thousand years

Translated by Burton Rafeel and Nurdin Salam

LANDSCAPE by: Carlos A. Angeles

Sun in the knifed horizon bleeds the sky,

Spilling a peacock stain upon the sands,

Across some murdered rocks refused to die.

It is your absence touches my sad hands

Blinded like flags in the wreck of air.

And catacombs of cloud enshroud the cool

And calm involvement of the darkened plains,

The stunted mourners here: and here, a full

And universal tenderness which drains

The sucked and golden breath of sky comes bare.

Now, while the dark basins the void of space,

Some sudden crickets, ambushing me near,

Discover vowels of your whispered face

And subtly cry. I touch your absence here

Remembering the speechless of your hair.