Maple Wind (Revised)

[George O'Toole]

Thanks to some kind words from our dearly posthumous Mr. A, I am
able to bring you a revision of Maple Wind. (With a (hopefully controversial?)
long extro at the end.)

Maple Wind

Maple wind. Ruffled hair.
Big windows left open.
Collar won't stay down.

Mountain writing. New wine.
Four desert valley months
gone: leaves drop and swirl.

Papers fly off the low table.
Words coming quick
through noisy air.

Oct 4, 1992

Now for the "ex"tro.
This is another of my "Chinese Painting poems," written about (and often
inscribed on) a Chinese painting. Some of them are for my paintings, some,
like this one, are written about paintings done by my teacher Hau Pei-Jen,
in class. You see, class consists of him demonstrating two paintings, a flower
painting and a landscape painting. This is the fall quarter, so we get autumn
paintings. It was my first day in class (I'd missed the first two sessions).
Somehow this class brings out the poesy in me with this painting.

Oh, and by the way, "Chrysanthemums," (posted a few minutes ago) is vaguely
a Chinese Painting poem, being inspired partly by two paintings in last Monday's
class, (the orange chrysanthemums with blue leaves fading, and the cypress climbing
the mountain side) and mostly by my thought while in class. Only vaguely a Cpp because
this one probably won't end up anywhere on a painting.

(yo!) George.