2024-05-04 World Give Day

【Stars at Tallapoosa (1922)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

        The lines are straight and swift between the stars.

        The night is not the cradle that they cry,

        The criers, undulating the deep-oceaned phrase.

        The lines are much too dark and much too sharp.

     &nbs

2024-05-04 National Bird Day

【Invective Against Swans (1923)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

        The soul, O ganders, flies beyond the parks

        And far beyond the discords of the wind.

        A bronze rain from the sun descending marks

        The death of summer, which that ti

2024-04-27 National Prime Rib Day

【The Plot Against the Giant - Second Girl (1917)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

        I shall run before him,

        Arching cloths besprinkled with colors

        As small as fish-eggs.

        The threads

        Will abash him.

—— • —— • —— R

2024-04-06 Jump Over Things Day

【The Poems of Our Climate - I (1942)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

            Clear water in a brilliant bowl,

            Pink and white carnations. The light

            In the room more like a snowy air,

            Reflecti

2024-03-10 National Landline Telephone Day

【Le Monocle de Mon Oncle-XI (1918)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

       If sex were all, then every trembling hand

       Could make us squeak, like dolls, the wished-for words.

       But note the unconscionable treachery of fate,

       That makes us weep, laugh, grunt and groan, and shout

       Doleful heroics, pinching gestures forth

    &nbs

2024-03-03 National I Want You to Be Happy Day

【Le Monocle de Mon Oncle-X (1918)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

        The fops of fancy in their poems leave

        Memorabilia of the mystic spouts,

        Spontaneously watering their gritty soils.

        I am a yeoman, as such fellows go.

2024-02-18 National Drink Wine Day

【Le Monocle de Mon Oncle-II (1918)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

         A red bird flies across the golden floor.

         It is a red bird that seeks out his choir

         Among the choirs of wind and wet and wing.

         A torrent will fall from him when he finds.

         Shall I uncrumple this much-crumpled thing?

    &nb

2024-02-16 Lunar Human Day

【Gray Room (1917)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

    Although you sit in a room that is gray,

    Except for the silver

    Of the straw-paper,

    And pick

    At your pale white gown;

    Or lift one of the green beads

    Of your necklace,

    To let it fall;

    Or gaze at your green fan

&n

2023-12-31 New Year's Eve

【Waving Adieu, Adieu, Adieu (1936)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

    That would be waving and that would be crying,

    Crying and shouting and meaning farewell,

    Farewell in the eyes and farewell at the centre,

    Just to stand still without moving a hand.

    In a world without heaven to follow, the stops

    Would be endings

2023-12-08 National Brownie Day

【Forms of the Rock in a Night-Hymn (1954)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

         The rock is the gray particular of man's life,

         The stone from which he rises, up - and - ho,

         The step to the bleaker depths of his descents...

         The rock is the stern particular of the air,

2023-11-23 Thanksgiving Day

【Not Ideas About the Thing but the Thing Itself (1954)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

        At the earliest ending of winter, 

        In March, a scrawny cry from outside 

        Seemed like a sound in his mind. 

        He knew that he heard it

2023-11-04 National Bison Day

【July Mountain (1955)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

            We live in a constellation

            Of patches and of pitches,

            Not in a single world,

            In things said well in music,

2023-09-16 National Dance Day

【Two Letters—A Letter From (1954)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

    Even if there had been a crescent moon

    On every cloud-tip over the heavens,

    Drenching the evening with crystals' light,

    One would have wanted more—more—more—

    Some true interior to which to return,

    A home against one's self, a darkness,

   &nb

2023-06-17 World Juggling Day

【The Planet on the Table (1953)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

        Ariel was glad he had written his poems.

        They were of a remembered time

        Or of something seen that he liked.

        Other makings of the sun

2023-05-28 Pentecost

【Farewell to Florida·III (1935)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

       I hated the weathery yawl from which the pools

       Disclosed the sea floor and the wilderness

       Of waving weeds. I hated the vivid blooms

       Curled over the shadowless hut, the rust and bones,

       The trees likes bones and the leaves half sand, half sun.

       To stand here o

2023-05-20 World Whisky Day

【Farewell to Florida·II (1935)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

       Her mind had bound me round. The palms were hot

       As if I lived in ashen ground, as if

       The leaves in which the wind kept up its sound

       From my North of cold whistled in a sepulchral South,

       Her South of pine and coral and coraline sea,

       Her home, not mine,

2023-05-14 Mother's Day

【Looking Across the Fields and Watching the Birds Fly (1952)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

           Among the more irritating minor ideas

           Of Mr. Homburg during his visits home

           To Concord, at the edge of things, was this:

           To t

2023-05-06 Intl No Diet Day

【Sunday Morning·VIII (1923)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

        She hears, upon that water without sound,

        A voice that cries, “The tomb in Palestine

        Is not the porch of spirits lingering.

        It is the grave of Jesus, where he lay.”

        We live in

2023-04-29 National Peace Rose Day

【Sunday Morning·VI (1923)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

        Is there no change of death in paradise?

        Does ripe fruit never fall? Or do the boughs

        Hang always heavy in that perfect sky,

        Unchanging, yet so like our perishing earth,

2023-04-19 National Hanging Out Day

【Sunday Morning·V (1923)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

        She says, “But in contentment I still feel

        The need of some imperishable bliss.”

        Death is the mother of beauty; hence from her,

        Alone, shall come fulfilment to our dreams

2023-03-05 National Cheese Doodle Day

【Frogs Eat Butterflies, Snakes Eat Frogs, Hogs Eat Snakes, Men Eat Hogs (1922)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

        It is true that the rivers went nosing like swine,

        Tugging at banks, until they seemed

        Bland belly-sounds in somnolent troughs,

     &nb

2023-02-19 National Chocolate Mint Day

【Bantams in Pine-Woods (1922)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

        Chieftain Iffucan of Azcan in caftan

        Of tan with henna hackles, halt!

        Damned universal cock, as if the sun

        Was blackmoor to bear your blazing tail.

 &n

2023-02-12 Super Bowl LVII: AFC Kansas City Chiefs vs. NFC Philadelphia Eagles

【Youth (1918)】

Samuel Ullman (1840—1924)

Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.

Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity of the appetite, for adventure over the love of ease.  This

2023-01-21 National Hugging Day

【Esthétique du Mal·XIV (1945)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

       Victor Serge said, "I followed his argument

       With the blank uneasiness which one must feel

       In the presence of a logical lunatic."

       He said it of Konstantinov. Revolution

       Is the affair of logical lunatics.

       The politics of emotion must appear

2023-01-15 Martin Luther King Jr. Day

【Esthétique du Mal·XIII (1945)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

       It may be that one life is a punishment

       For another, as the son's life for the father's.

       But that concerns the secondary characters.

       It is a fragementary tragedy

       Within the universal whole. The son

       And the father alike and equally ar

2023-01-08 National English Toffee Day

【Esthétique du Mal·XII (1945)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

       He disposes the world in categories, thus:

       The peopled and the unpeopled. In both, he is

       Alone. But in the peopled world, there is,

       Besides the people, his knowledge of them. In

       The unpeopled, there is his knowledge of himself.

       Which is more

2023-01-01 New Year's Day

【Esthétique du Mal·XI (1945)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

        Life is a bitter aspic. We are not

        At the centre of a diamond. At dawn,

        The paratroopers fall and as they fall

        They mow the lawn. A vessel sinks in waves

        Of people, as big-bell

2022-12-30 National Bacon Day

【Esthétique du Mal·X (1945)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

        He had studied the nostalgias. In these

        He sought the most grossly maternal, the creature

        Who most fecundly assuaged him, the softest

        Woman with a vague mustache and not the mauve

2022-12-25 Christmas Day

【Esthétique du Mal·IX (1945)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

       Panic in the face of the moon — round effendi

       Or the phosphored sleep in which he walks abroad

       Or the majolica dish heaped up with phosphored fruit

       That he sends ahead, out of the goodness of his heart,

       To anyone who comes — panic, because

       The moon is no longer

2022-12-02 World Futures Day

【Esthétique du Mal·V (1945)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

        Softly let all true sympathizers come,

        Without the inventions of sorrow or the sob

        Beyond invention. Within what we permit,

        Within the actual, the warm, the near,

        So great a

2022-11-24 Thanksgiving Day

【Esthétique du Mal·III (1945)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

        His firm stanzas hang like hives in hell

        Or what hell was, since now both heaven and hell

        Are one, and here, O terra infidel.

        The fault lies with an over-human god,

 &

2022-10-22 National Nut Day

【The Auroras of Autumn·VIII (1948)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

       There may be always a time of innocence.

       There is never a place. Or if there is no time,

       If it is not a thing of time, nor of place,

       Existing in the idea of it, alone,

       In the sense against calamity, it is not

    &nb

2022-09-25 National Quesadilla Day

【Notes Toward a Supreme Fiction—It Must Give Pleasure·X (1942)】

〖Part II〗

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

       Soldier, there is a war between the mind

       And sky, between thought and day and night. It is

       For that the poet is always in the sun,

       Patches the moon together in his room

       To his Vir

2022-07-09 National Sugar Cookie Day

【Notes Toward a Supreme Fiction—It Must Be Abstract·III (1942)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

         The poem refreshes life so that we share,

         For a moment, the first idea… It satisfies

         Belief in an immaculate beginning

         And sends us, winged by an unconscious will,

      &n

2019-09-19

【Erat Hora (It was for an hour…)】

Ezra Pound (1885—1972)

〖Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948〗

            Thank you, whatever comes.' And then she turned

            And, as the ray of sun on hanging flowers

            Fades when the wind hath lifted them aside,

       &nb

2018-03-08

【Aiden in English】

        It's great when you can celebrate a birthday without having to go to school. Not that I'm skipping school, it's just because there is a projected foot of snow. Furthermore, it's not my birthday, but my grandmother's. She's turning 81 today, which isn’t something that occurs often.

        Looking out the window while I'm writing this, it doesn't appear like t

2017-03-05

【Aiden in English】

        My grandmother's birthday is coming up. I know, why would you care…, so what…, but this event is quite special. The day after today will be her eightieth birthday, which is very monumental for any person. However, I must say, these milestones in life are much less hyped at the moment than viewed at other times.

        Nevertheless, Grandma’s birthday deserves some sort of re

2017-02-19

【Aiden in English】

        It’s that time of year again. My birthday. I really don’t want to write about this one, since it feels quite personal. But sometimes, I think it’s good to jot down some ideas about being 14.

        When people turn 13, they are stepping over an enormous milestone. However, age 14 is a step in the direction of choosing. At this time, courses are opening up. We are presented with m

2017-01-27

【Aiden in English】

        Lunar New Year is the biggest festivity in China. While American school kids are always complaining about their wimpy week of Christmas and New Year's breaks, Chinese students are at home, chilling with a month of rest.

        Yet in America, where there are plenty of Chinese immigrants, most schools barely recognize Chinese New Year as a holiday. At my school today, not a si

2017-01-01

【Aiden in English】

        You know, Longwood Gardens kind of feels like a tradition now. It has been, what, three straight years of seeing the park in the holiday seasons? Correct me if I'm wrong, but this place is beginning to grow on me a bit.

        Most of you may ask why Longwood Gardens hasn't gotten duller through the years. Instead of answering, may I ask you a question? Why does Christmas never get old? Real

2016-12-25

【Liu Ch'e】

Ezra Pound (1885—1972)

〖Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948〗

         The rustling of the silk is discontinued,

         Dust drifts over the court-yard,

         There is no sound of foot-fall, and the leaves

         Scurry into heaps and lie still,

       And she the rejoicer of the heart is beneath them:

         A

2016-12-25

【Garden】

Ezra Pound (1885—1972)

〖Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948〗

      Like a skein of loose silk blown against a wall

     She walks by the railing of a path in Kensington Gardens,

     And she is dying piece-meal

      of a sort of emotional anemia.

      And round about there is a rabble

      Of the filthy,

2016-11-05

【A Pact】

Ezra Pound (1885—1972)

〖Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948〗

            I make a pact with you, Walt Whitman —

            I have detested you long enough.

            I come to you as a grown child

            Who has had a pig-headed father;

&

2016-05-29 Memorial Weekend

【Aiden in English】

        Pittsburgh is a great city in Pennsylvania that is commonly overshadowed by the great Philadelphia. Come to think of it, the City of Champions is just as good if not better than the City of Brotherly Love. Pittsburgh has fabulous architecture and a spectacular skyline, as well as old money and natural resources. Not to mention sports teams that actually are meant to play in the major leagues. In f

2016-04-22

【Aiden in English】

        And we’re back in the Lai-Lai Garden tonight. Actually, it wasn’t initially planned, as the first plan of dinner was at the newly opened Madang Korean & BBQ nearby, but we like our food the Chinese way. You may be wondering, however, what’s the occasion? Well, you see, Mom, apparently, is hosting her college folk and his wife who she has only seen once in three decades. That was thirteen years ago when I was car

2016-03-24

【Aiden in English】

        In general, the word “indigenous” is used to describe a subject that is native to a specific location. Going back in time, the root derived from the Latin indigent, meaning “a native”. Add the English part of –ous to its end, and there you have the word. Hopping back to the present, New York is a melting pot of cultures on earth and has some indigenous characteristics that, well, the small county of Montgomery of

2016-02-21

【Aiden in English】

        Chinese Lunar New Year is absolutely awesome because it's a holiday that is around 23 days long. You know what it means.  More food, fun, and video games. This particular night was a combination of Grandma's, Mom's, my birthday, plus the Lantern Festival. Although the night is super special, I sort of wish all these occasions were spread out more to enjoy everyone separately.

    &nb

2016-02-07

【Aiden in English】

        Super Bowl 50 is finally here! I'm a Denver Broncos fan, and you all may say that I'm a bandwagon. Actually, I'm not, for two reasons. First of all, the Bronco's kicker, Brandon McManus went to the North Penn School District where I came from. Secondly, when I was first introduced to football, I asked Dad who the best QB was at the time four years ago, and it was Peyton Manning. Tom Brady was good, but

2015-12-31

【Aiden in English】

        A new year has arrived, and to be totally honest, 2015 was getting old. It feels like it turned 2016 ages ago, and we have to leave the glamorous life behind. But not yet. There are still seven more hours to go, and two great college football semifinal bowl games to go. And, as a split-second decision, a family dinner was added on New Year’s Eve as well.

        Mei Ting Asian Fus

2015-12-27

【Aiden in English】

        I'm not the biggest fan of flowers. Every spring, they take me through pollen torture that kills, and hopefully, that's a good enough reason. Well, after today, it might not be, seeing the Brookside Garden in Silver Spring MD.

        For the past few days of Christmas, it had been like my math test scores. They skyrocketed into the seventies, then plummeted down into the

2015-06-07

【Aiden in English】

        A 4-star restaurant usually has ridiculously high prices in NYC and food that could be eaten nearly anywhere. Pair it with some wine and bam! The food just got a 4-star quality. The Russian Tea Room sounded like a different breed, and I was about to find out just how much.

        Russians enjoyed caviar. In fact, I’ll say it seems like their only condiment. So going to a 4-