Friday NIght Poetry - Du Fu

Du Fu, a classical Chinese poet known forty years ago as Tu Fu, lived from 712 to 770. Like many classical Chinese poets, he spent years far from home.



Spring


1.

Rivers and low mountains
in the broad light of noon.

Cool fragrant winds flowing
through flowers and spice plants.

Swallows building their nests
with pecks of wet mud.

Ducks hunkered down
in the warm sand.

2.

White egrets reflected
in the blue river.

Red flowers flaring
on the green slopes.

I watch
this parade of wealth

thinking, even so,
that it's time to go home.


—Du Fu

The Pathetic Howard Kurtz

Poor Howie, he's tired. The House has passed one of the most important pieces of legislation in years and all Howard Kurtz can do is whine about how hard it is to be a journalist. Millions of Americans are chained to a job for fear that they will lose health insurance for a loved one and all Howie can think about is being chained to one of the most important stories in a generation. No doubt, he at least has good health insurance. Here's his first paragraph, which seems to pass for great journalism in the pages of The Washington Post these days:

As House members spent Sunday droning on while heading toward final approval of President Obama's health-care bill, the end was in sight for journalists who have been chained to this complicated, arcane, often tedious story for 14 long months.

A lot of us without health insurance are tired too. With the passage of health care, just maybe, just maybe, we'll start seeing more legislation to make us proud after eight years of a failed presidency and thirty years of mediocre politics. I am tired of right wing politicians trying to drag us back to the 19th century. To my mind, we need more Democrats elected to Congress this fall so that we can move forward with the reforms our country so desperately needs.

By the way, with one stroke, Nancy Pelosi has done more for millions of Americans than any Republican in a generation.