Plum Blossoms
by Wing Tek Lum
A hush descends upon the hard earth,
betraying no tears.
The gaunt plum hugs the river.
Its branches, shorn of leaves,
reach out like stark cries
in the Winter night, a spider’s agony.
Yet nubs of blossoms
nudge through the crinkled bark
on one twig, then another.
Buds nestle in crooks and crevices,
white as frost, grudging smiles,
a compassion nourished from within,
seeking air, seeking light.
From THE NANJING MASSACRE: POEMS by Wing Tek Lum with permission from Bamboo Ridge Press.
Wing Tek Lum is a Honolulu businessman and poet. His first collection of poetry, EXPOUNDING THE DOUBTFUL POINTS, was published by Bamboo Ridge Press in 1987. He is the 2014 recipient of an Elliot Cades Award for Literature. You can find out more about his work at www.bambooridge.com.
Song of Patience
by Vivekanand Jha
Sing a song of glee
Even in the hours of grief
Even iron-tree would turn green
Even stony soul would melt like wax.
Live a life of contentment and peace
Prosperity will knock at your door
Opportunity will peep through your window
Flower and fruit of success
Would bloom even in bald courtyard.
Tread the track of truth
Like soldiers march in step
Follow the sayer of sooth
Like shadow to you
Even from soil of sterile
Sun flower would sprout.
Remember when, how
or what you sweat
that pays prize sooner or late
Your eyes would forget
Last time when they had shed tears,
Sigh would fail to remember
When it breathed a relief out of fears.
Learn the lessons of morals
Forget how to sit on laurels
If such be belief of every individual
There will be none orphan or single.
Kingdom of peace and
empire of tolerance
Would be reinstated
No room would remain
for repulsion and reprisal.
Dr. Vivekanand Jha is a translator, editor, and award winning poet from India. He is a contributing poet to Wavelengths: 2011 Savant Anthology of Poetry which has won first place in the 2011 London Book Festival. He is the author of five books of poetry. He has also authored one critical book on the poetry of Jayanta Mahapatra and edited two critical anthologies on Indian English Novels. He is son of noted professor, poet, and award winning translator Dr. Rajanand Jha.
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