Tu Fu: I Stand Alone

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Sacred Poetry from Around the World

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I Stand Alone

by Tu Fu
(712 - 770) Timeline

English version by
Sam Hamill

Original Language
Chinese

Buddhist : Zen / Chan

8th Century

A falcon hovers at the edge of the sky.
Two gulls drift slowly up the river.

Vulnerable while they ride the wind,
they coast and glide with ease.

Dew is heavy on the grass below,
the spider's web is ready.

Heaven's ways include the human:
among a thousand sorrows, I stand alone.

-- from The Poetry of Zen: (Shambhala Library), Edited by Sam Hamill / Edited by J. P. Seaton

Amazon.com

Themes

Sky

Water

Recommended Books

	A Drifting Boat: Chinese Zen Poetry, Edited by J. P. Seaton / Edited by Dennis Maloney
	Li Po and Tu Fu: Poems, Translated by Arthur Cooper
	The Poetry of Zen: (Shambhala Library), Edited by Sam Hamill / Edited by J. P. Seaton
	Selected Poems of Tu Fu, Translated by David Hinton
	Sunflower Splendor: Three Thousand Years of Chinese Poetry, Edited by Wu-chi Liu / Edited by Irving Yucheng Lo

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Poetry Chaikhana Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Poetry Chaikhana
Sacred Poetry from Around the World