Chinese Calligraphy

Ancient dynasties
as Ming, Qing,Tang
displayed in thematic fashion
a masterpiece of history.

Archaic scrolls
of parchment, sometimes satin or silk
the Buddhist sutra;
an archived honorarium
of the written word.

I study the poems and lyrics
in running scripts
a language unknown
the forbidden city.
I understand the poet
within each character
the Michelangelo of words.

I marvel the artistry
of a simpler time
where poetry was revered
and wonder if this poem
I am about to complete
will live within it's own dynasty.




Comments

JoJo,

Your poems and articles are amazing..If it touches someone, in some ways, you've done an outstanding job, which you are, to me!
Rick (Ratty) said…
I loved picturing all of that ancient writing while I was reading this one.
vanillaseven said…
oh, I like the poem, it kinda brings me back to ancient times
katherine said…
another nice poem...i agree with Ratty, it's nice to picture it while reading..

Thanks for visiting and commenting to my blog Jo.
Roz said…
I enjoyed reading your poem! Your enjoyment of the Chinese poetry shines through.
rainfield61 said…
Chinese Calligraphy is an art. Chinese character resemble the actual object it means, if you can understand.
Joanne Olivieri said…
Icy, you are so sweet and you've made my day. Thank you.

Ratty, thanks always for your loyalty.

Vanilla, thanks for your comments.

Katherine, you are welcome and thank you.

Roz, Thanks for stopping by.

rainfield, I was completely inspired by the calligraphy while vacationing in Hong Kong and visiting the calligraphy exhibit at the art museum.
Liza said…
I enjoyed the poem! I've always admired this kind of art, Chinese and Japanese calligraphy. :)
WebbieLady said…
Honestly, I have never seen yet what an ancient Chinese poem would look like. But I bet that would be very interesting.. If I remember good, we were presented with the translated versions back in high school but seeing an original CHinese version, in it original parchment or whatever material they used to write would be amazing experience realizing these stuff date centuries back.

Webbielady
Beautiful words! I am about to brush up my caligraphy as I have 65 place cards to write for my son's wedding,you reminded me of a long task ahead in a beautiful way :))
Lucy Lopez said…
Did you get to see people 'doing' the calligraphy? It is an art form and when done in the spirit of the art, is a meditation...I used to enjoy watching it when I was there and even bought paper and brushes and ink to pretend I could do it too :)
Joanne Olivieri said…
Liza, same here. I was mesmerized by it while visiting Hong Kong.

WebbieLady, I saw it in person at the art museum in Hong Kong and I simply could not leave. Even though I could not read it and there were not English translations, I couldn't take my eyes off of it.

Glynis, Sounds like an enjoyable task to me :)

Lucy, I did witness it being done on the streets of Kowloon during a festival. It's amazing and I wish I knew how to do it.

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