May the clouds that darken your prospect
Spare you from the hot sun’s glower.
May the rain that muddles your footing
Pour also in needed hours.
May the thunder that stirs up your fears
Reassure your faith with its power.
May the frost that deters ambitions
Keep your soil from turning sour.
May the wind that brushes against you
Dry up the sweat from your labour.
May the sun that scorches you cruelly
Work the weather in your favour.
Colin Lee
At a chaotic time like today, our host Paul Scribbles asked us to write a blessing poem at dVerse’s Poetics: Blessings. I wrote a set of six 17-syllable lines, which are, in terms of poetic qualities, neither haiku nor American sentences – perhaps I can claim mine as “Chinese sentences”? For the sake of my jest, I covered the post with a picture of Yunnan’s – the mystical Shangri-La in our country’s backyard. May love and goodness prevail at all times.
Photo Courtesy: alphacoders.com
The Pescetarian Poet 
I love the image and the varied contrasts played out in the blessing. Thanks for sharing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Paul, for this most sanguine of prompts. I was working on a different poem and didn’t think I could squeeze in another one this week. Glad the muses found me at lunch break today! We all need (need!) this prompt like never before.
LikeLike
Turning the bad into good! That, I think, is the mark of a strong and resilient mind. I really enjoyed reading this poem!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad you like it. That sure is the mark, though the mark is not yet mine — something I bless my soul to attain, in time.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Go easy on yourself, we’re all striving for that!
LikeLiked by 1 person
lovely Colin, I like that you present the problem and then provide the solution in the next line.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Gina. The two sides of a coin … though unlike a coin flip, we can always choose to toss again. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like this. We constantly crib about how hot/cold it is and sometimes it really is. But I like how you’ve made us see the bright side of it all.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, NJ, “most often” it really is! The fact that those of us who live around the equator don’t get to talk much about the weather … is really because there isn’t much to talk about, apart from saying … bless your air-conditioning to be functioning well and quiet throughout summer! lol
LikeLiked by 1 person
…and may you have the wisdom to see the gift in each instance. Wise words, Colin. Well written.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Bev. Been hanging round with some wise folks lately — one of them being Ms Crawford!
LikeLike
Nice how the first line of each blessing referenced something inconvenient, but the second line showed how this inconvenience is what brings the blessing to us.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Frank. I was verging on the cliche with this piece … but some old truths just never change. After all, the biggest blessings in life are within the ordinary, not the supernatural.
LikeLiked by 1 person
There is a great depth of wisdom in your words – glad you found a few lunch-time moments to share them. Though you claim your sentences as Chinese (clever!), your style in this is very traditionally Irish.
By the way, Colin, I could not find anything that is an equivalent to the dueling couplets. I want to give that a try! I’m working on a post for July that is a challenge and hopefully we can get the word spread around. I think it will be grand! Again, I look forward to any input about the creative portion as well as the logistical.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m expecting to enter a semi-hiatus soon, with my third child (a daughter, yay!) due in a month. But do keep me posted, my friend. As long as I can make it, count me in at your party!
Irish? Haven’t read any Irish in my life. Curious to know what gave you the impression. (Must be the Guinness I drank!)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Congratulations! May your daughter be a blessing to you for all of your days. Speaking of which, that is the Irish style I meant. A classic Irish blessing poem:
‘May the road rise up to meet you,
may the wind be always at your back, may the sunshine warm upon your face, and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.’
Your blessing poem was very much in that style. (Definately the Guinness!)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Cheers, Jilly. I pray she’ll be a blessing to many, and not just me. Strange to admit: I have hardly written any works inspired by or dedicated to my sons … yet, but I do feel the nudge to do one for my daughter. Maybe something “Irish”? I don’t know. Gotta grab a Guinness and muse over it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for your blessing, I really liked,
“May the thunder that stirs up your fears Reassure your faith with its power.”
The picture is surreal too. I’ve visited Yunnan and Shangrila but don’t remember the terraced fields. It’s beauty actually reminded me much of my home, Colorado, but including mystical Tibetan scripted prayers on the mountainsides.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re most welcome, Amaya. Glad you like it. I saw plenty of those on my last trip to Shangrila though. It’s a large province — we can never see enough! 🙂
LikeLike
I love this blessing… in some ways I feel it could have been a ghazal but instead of having the last word of the couplet being the same you have the initial one… anyway great work.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Consider the last word on each Arabic line the first from the left … hm … anyway, thanks, Bjorn. 🙂
LikeLike
This is lovely with the elemental theme and the chance to see good in what we might think is negative. Very well done, thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
And I thank you too, Dr Howe.
LikeLike
I love the balance in this, positive from negative, finding the good in the bad.
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wonderful blessing, Colin. I especially noticed the 2nd stanza since I live in drought prone areas–but this year we got floods.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hm … droughts and floods casting their lots … sounds like our severely deforested north. I fear this is another example where the climates have lost their balance. Anyway, thank you for blessing me with your dropping by. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person