|
|
|
Best Poems From YEN CRESS
(3/9/43)
|
|
| |
|
|
5.
|
Debutante in Green (Rondeau Redouble)
The young bamboo made her debut:
She sang to me a serenade.
She wore a crown of silver dew
And ao dai sewn of silken jade.
My meetings with the gentle maid
Were secret, like a rendevous,
Until that day, when in the glade,
The young bamboo made her debut.
The breeze was warm; the sky was blue;
The butterflies were on parade;
While 'round her head they danced and flew,
She sang to me a serenade.
The lilies shamelessly displayed
Their gowns of every brilliant hue.
My love stood proudly unafraid:
She wore a crown of silver dew.
Shy little shoots gazed up. They knew
Who most divinely was arrayed-
The young Vietnamese bamboo
In ao dai made of silken jade.
To her, polite respects they paid.
She was the slender maiden who
Deserved their every accolade
The glorious day they came to view
The young bamboo.
Yen Cress
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
6.
|
Felix the Helix
Snail, Snail, lay your silver, slick, and wind-
ing trail. After you've dined, please be kind-
And leave a few uneaten leaves behind!
In sweltering July, in January cold or dry,
Gastropod, seal yourself in-don't ask why-
Just make your clear operculum-don't die!
Shoot your magic love dart; aim it well.
You have no need to ask, no need to tell.
Just watch out for Farmer in the Dell!
Felix, your single helix is pretty and artistic.
But I think some folks are petty and sadistic-
They'd have your double helix become a statistic!
Yen Cress
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
7.
|
The Pale Beauty
Born of the clouds,
I cast myself down
At your feet.
Observe my loveliness,
My beauty,
My unblemished face.
Respect my purity.
I am untouched,
Virginal,
Unused to coarse graspings.
Feel the soothing coolness
With which I surround you.
Hear the hushed whispers
Of my sensuous affection.
Test my strength.
I can bear great burdens;
I have no fear.
Sense my serenity
In the face of doom.
My existence is transitory.
When my time comes,
I shall softly weep,
And weeping, I shall pass.
And my tears
Will carry my spirit
To the thirsty valley,
Which knows me not.
Love me for this day.
Then let me go.
I am
The Snow.
Yen Cress
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
8.
|
A Trio of Triolets on Clouds
*****CIRRUS
Wild horses fly across a pathless plain,
Their filamented manes and tails afloat.
No mortal hand determines their domain;
Wild horses fly across a pathless plain
Undisciplined and free. Ahead they strain
To verdant pastures far and fields remote.
Wild horses fly across a pathless plain,
Their filamented manes and tails afloat.
*****CUMULUS
Vanilla ice cream mounded on a plate,
Enough for us, and plenty more beside-
A summer holiday to celebrate!
Vanilla ice cream mounded on a plate
Will melt and drip, so eat it up-don't wait!
Come now and share the luscious treat outside-
Vanilla ice cream mounded on a plate,
Enough for us, and plenty more beside!
*****STRATUS
The angels shear the softest fleece from lambs
And make a quilt to bundle up the earth.
They never use the wool from ewes or rams;
The angels shear the softest fleece from lambs.
It's warm enough for babies in their prams,
And snug enough to swaddle them from birth.
The angels shear the softest fleece from lambs
And make a quilt to bundle up the earth.
Yen Cress
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|