The poetry of Bruce Lee
While everybody knows Bruce Lee as the most famous Chinese film star of all time and one of the greatest martial artists ever, fewer know him as a poet. Yet a poet he was; in fact he was a very accomplished one. Here is a selection of his most enlightening, perceptive and moving verses.
The doubters said,
"Man can not fly,"
The doers said,
"Maybe, but we'll try,"
And finally soared
In the morning glow
While non-believers
Watched from below
Not being tense but ready.
Not thinking but not dreaming.
Not being set but flexible.
Liberation from the uneasy sense of confinement.
It is being wholly and quietly alive, aware and alert, ready for whatever may come.
It is useless to try to stir the dirt
Out of the muddy water,
As it will become murkier.
But leave it alone,
And if it should be cleared;
It will become clear by itself.
Read this poem I leave you, read it
When the silence of the world possesses you,
Or when you are fretted with disquiet.
Long must be this parting, and
Remember, remember that all
My thoughts have always been of you.
The dying sun lies sadly in the far horizon.
The autumn wind blows mercilessly;
The yellow leaves fall.
From the mountain peak,
Two streams parted unwillingly.
The two fish swim;
One white, one gold.
From the picket fence
A pink rose reaches out to the sun.
Among the flowers, two butterflies fly.
They might know where they want to go,
But they do not know how to get there.
The wave from mountain peaks becomes
Hammer to sculpture rocks,
To leave chiseled shapes and polished surfaces.
From boulder to rock to sand.
And with the final thrust the sun
Throws wave upon the shore
The jellyfish in weariness
Nestles in a pool.
Let us then take a lump of clay,
Wet it, pat it,
And make an image of you
And an image of me.
Then smash them, crash them,
And, with a little water,
Knead them together.
Love,
Could life be otherwise
With you and me?