Saleh Badrah

My soul stood up today and said:
Your heart is full of sorrow.

I know, I said,
...

Nan-in, the sage, one day received
A guest who'd come in search of wisdom.
...

Each wrinkle in his ancient face
Bespeaks a monumental deed.
Serenely there with pride he sits,
No longer longing to succeed:
...

It's fruitless in this bleakness to seek zest
Or cheerfulness to brighten up your gloom:
For what bird here will ever build its nest?
What fragrant rose in here will ever bloom?
...

It's bliss to sniff you,
Enchanting is your fragrance,
Fresh white Gardenia.
...

For things of beauty
constantly am I searching,
despite the bleakness.
...

Culture is the cultivation of the self,
The weeding out of inner rotten weeds,
The getting rid of inner 'stony rubbish',
The steady noiseless maturation of the intellect,
...

Upon a lonely hill, beneath a tree,
Within the boundless realm of reverie,
Abstracted from the sphere of endless strife,
One misty evening all alone I sat
...

A simple, cozy hut,
In a calm, secluded, misty glen,
With winding brooks and waterfalls,
With shady trees and bushes green,
...

Keep digging, O my soul, and pay no heed
To what the minds of shallow men may breed.
Within the self, and nowhere else indeed,
The secret mines of golden wisdom lie.
...

These songs, which are with love and passion fashioned,
Which from the springs of wisdom love to drink,
Will always those who harbour malice sting.
...

Sitting here in careless comfort,
Far away from their affliction,
Reading news and viewing pictures,
Rambling through the Internet,
...

Tomorrow, you keep saying, you will live.
But where on earth could this Tomorrow be
...

Two slimy rats
Crept into my room
And started nibbling
Sniffingly at my stuff.
...

Lovely looks this rose,
Much more lovely is her scent:
Rose-scented Beauty.
...

I shape my poems
Intending to beautify
My inner garden.
...

By a serene lake,
Beneath a tree I once sat
And fondly read Keats.
...

I used to enjoy
Writing with and collecting
Vintage fountain pens.
...

Take time to savour
Il dolce far niente,
To enjoy your life.
...

Scrumptiously sweet
Is your succulent nectar,
Pinkish passion fruit.
...