December 2015

POTD: Wash Day

POTD: Wash DayWash Day
Xitang Village, China
2015

I was quite surprised (naively I suppose) how many people do not have access to washing machines in China. This lady was doing laundry in the river. She was standing on a little landing that looked like it was made specifically for that purpose. I also saw similar landings along creeks across from housing in the mountains. Walking in Shanghai one day I noticed a number of women doing laundry in ground level sinks outside of buildings.

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POTD: Waiting in the Rain

POTD: Waiting in the RainWaiting in the Rain
Hangzhou, China
2015

Pale rain over the dwindling harbour
And over the sea wet church the size of a snail
With its horns through mist and the castle
Brown as owls
But all the gardens
Of spring and summer were blooming in the tall tales
Beyond the border and under the lark full cloud.

    –Dylan Thomas

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POTD: In Autumn Rain

POTD: In Autumn RainIn Autumn Rain
Hangzhou, China
2015

Bitter rain in my courtyard
In the decline of Autumn,
I only have vague poetic feelings
That I cannot bring together.
They diffuse into the dark clouds
And the red leaves.

           –We Tsao (Translated by Kenneth Rexroth and Ling Chung)

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POTD: The Bamboo Groves

POTD: The Bamboo GrovesThe Bamboo Groves
Lin’an, China
2015

The Bamboo Groves

Sitting alone
in a recess of the bamboo groves,
I play the lute,
and then whistle a long tune.
No one else is visible
in the depth of the woods.
The bright moon
moves over, shining.

Wang Wei (701 – 761)
–Translator: Qui Xiaolong

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