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The 23rd century BCE Power Point Club

Copyright 2003-2006 The 23ⓒ rd Century BCE PowerPoint Club. All Rights Reserved.

The Poems of the Eastern EastThe Poems of the Eastern EastThe Poems of the Eastern EastThe Poems of the Eastern EastThe Poems of the Eastern East

By: Ravish Chawla, Ryan Whatley, and Pierce Sanders

One of us may feelThat life holds only pain, and another

That our lot is shameful,Yet since we are not birds, but men,

We cannot find escape in flight

I was born in this world as a man,And in the fields,I have toiled as hard as any,And yet my clothesConsist of this one unpadded vestOf coarse hempen fiberHanging across and down my shoulders,Dangling all in tatters

The Destitute Man

By: Kakinomoto Hitomaro

Translated by: Robert H. Brower, and Earl Roy Miner.

Selected by: Ryan Whatley

Even the manner of cooking food,And like the night finch

We raise weak-throated cries.Yet this is not all.

For to cap our misery, to cut—As the saying goes—

What was already short still shorter,The growling voice

Of the tax collecter with his stickEven disrupts our sleep,

And he stands threatening at the door.Is this the only waMust life be only this,

So hopelessly beyond our powers?y of the world?

The Choka Poems, of the Eastern Japan of the EastThe Choka Poems, of the Eastern Japan of the EastThe Choka Poems, of the Eastern Japan of the EastThe Choka Poems, of the Eastern Japan of the EastThe Choka Poems, of the Eastern Japan of the East

Though the saying goes

That the heavens and earth are vast,

My experience is

That they have shrunk upon me;

And though the saying is

That the sun and moon are radiant,

My experince is

That they have failed to shine on me,

Do all men suffer so,

Or is this the case with me alone?

With blessed fortune

No better than ragged strips of kelp,My house is a hovel,Low roofed and half fallen in,With cold bare earth.

Beneath the scattered straw,

In the seat above

My father and mother crouch,

While down below

My wife and children lie

And press about me,

Groaning in their wreatchedness.

Upon the hearth

No fire sends up its smoke,

And in the pot

Only a spider drapes its web—

We have forgotten

What is the reason behind the simple nature.have you ever thoughtWhy is the sky blueAnd why is the water wetWhy is the earth roundWhy is the silk softWhy is there heat in the fireWhy is the snow coldwhy is there the sunwhy is there the night and daywhy is there the moonwhy do rivers flowwhy does the sun rise in eastand why do we breath

why are there jungleswhy are there everlong treeswhy is the naturewhy can’t we see airwhy can’t we hear silencewhy are there borderswhy don’t fishes flywhy isn’t two and two fivewhy don’t the birds swim

The Choka Poems, of the Eastern Japan of the EastThe Choka Poems, of the Eastern Japan of the EastThe Choka Poems, of the Eastern Japan of the EastThe Choka Poems, of the Eastern Japan of the EastThe Choka Poems, of the Eastern Japan of the East

what is the reason behind the simple nature.

have you ever thoughtof these simple things of life

What is the meaning of life

The Choka of the 23rd Century BCE

By: Ravish Chawla

The Haiku Poems, of the Eastern Japan of the EastThe Haiku Poems, of the Eastern Japan of the EastThe Haiku Poems, of the Eastern Japan of the EastThe Haiku Poems, of the Eastern Japan of the EastThe Haiku Poems, of the Eastern Japan of the EastThe Old Pond,

By Matsuo Basho

Translated by: Robert Hass

Selected by: Ryan Whatley

Furuike ya,

Kawazu Tobikomu,

Mizi no oto.

The Old pond,

A frog jumps in,

Sound of water.

The moonlight reflectsWith the dark rays of sunAt the core of dawn.

The Haiku of the 23rd Century, BCE

By: Ravish Chawla and Pierce Sanders

The dark red wagonRelaxing in the green lawnShines in the light mizzle.

As the stars widened

In the dark black sky at night,

The moon rose up,

And joined the beautiful stars

Creating a startling sight.

Breathtaking Eagle

Soars high in the cloudy sky

Eyes peering downward

Tis beginning of winter

Hunting for food to survive.

The tanka Poems, of the Eastern Japan of the EastThe tanka Poems, of the Eastern Japan of the EastThe tanka Poems, of the Eastern Japan of the EastThe tanka Poems, of the Eastern Japan of the EastThe tanka Poems, of the Eastern Japan of the EastEye of an Eagle

By Melvina Germain

Selected by: Ryan Whatley

The Tanka of the 23rd Century BCE

By: Ravish Chawla and Pierce Sanders

The side of the creek,The small fish struggle to stay.They can’t stop wagging,Just wait for the rain to come,The creek floods and the fish relax.

The Shih Poems, of the Eastern Japan of the EastThe Shih Poems, of the Eastern Japan of the EastThe Shih Poems, of the Eastern Japan of the EastThe Shih Poems, of the Eastern Japan of the EastThe Shih Poems, of the Eastern Japan of the East

Grand in the south the thunder rolls,

Beyond that lofty hill.

Why must he go, nor dare to stay

Brief space at rest and still?

Absent my noble lord I mourn,

May he return! May he return!

Grand in the south the thunder rolls

Along that mountain’s side

Why must he go from this, nor dare

Brief time at rest to bide?

Absent my noble lord I mourn,

May he return! May he return!

Grand in the south the thunder rolls,

Around that mountain’s base.

Why must he go from this, nor dare

Indulge himself a space?

Absent my noble lord I mourn,

May he return! May he return!

The Yin Ch’i Lei from the Shih Ching

The Shih of the 23rd Century BCE

By Ravish Chawla

Think of simple ways

Because they are easier

They make things easy

And make things smaller

Thinking of the hard

Takes up more ATP,

Always think in simplicity

Because it is reality

Brewer, Robert H. and Earl Roy Miner. Japanese Court Poetry. Stanford: University Press, 1961.

Transltion: Legge,James. "Yin Ch'i Lei from Shih Ching". <http://www.sacred-texts.com/cfu/bop/bop022.htm> 23 October 2008.

Germain, Melvina. "Eye of an Eagle". <http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/eye- of-an-eagle-tanka-poem/> 23 October 2008.Basho, Matsuo. "The Old Pond" <http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-old- pond/> 23 October 2008.

Credits

PowerPoint produced by: Ravish ChawlaResearch by: Ryan WhatleyThe Poems of the 23rd Century BCE, produced by Ravish Chawla, and Pierce SandersThe end