Preface: Selected Poems 2017

Preface: Yellow-Veined Leaf Sings:
Selected Poems 2017

Yellow-Veined Baby Grand Magnolia Leaf falls
by me at Jane Lane, Rengstorff Ave, Mountain View

Two late poems from December 2016 are included here— "Supermoon: November 14, 2016"
(12-20-2016) and "The Virgin Mary" (12-25-2016). The first was inspired by Mike Kentrianakis
photo of November 14, 2016. It appeared as if the Moon was split open & 20 Platonic Lambda Λ light flakes descended in a triangular array. Didn't realize they were lights from the Chrysler Building. The second poem was inspired by the National Geographic's cover article on Mary,
and my experience of the Virgin's Veil at Chartres on August 15, 1979.

"Happy to Hear & Say These Words" (1-8-2017) was written after receiving an email from Ann asking me what words make me happy to hear and say. This poem was fun to write as I rounded up words and phrases which propel my mind to enlightenment.

On reading Santa Cruz Sentinel (1-21-2017) that The Advocate Tree at Forest of Nisene Marks
State Park in Aptos had toppled in the January 16 rainstorm, my heart sank. This 263-feet tall
thousand-year-old redwood was my all-time favorite during my many hikes in the Bay Area.
I gathered the photos taken (9-6-2009) while inside this giant and wrote the poem (1-21-2017).

Furman S. Baldwin's Il Bacio "The Kiss" (1947) is one of my all-time favorite photos. This photographer is still alive in his 90s living in the Bay Area. It did not occur to me until now that the two girls sitting next to the 2-year-old boy have their fingers in different postures. The angry girl has her fingers stretched outward, pointing to the physical senses, and is experiencing hell. The girl being kissed has her hand in the "wisdom mudra" pose, Mind focused to the spiritual, and is in heaven. That's how the poem "Heaven & Hell in Il Bacio (2-28-2017) was born.

Wrote "Apricot Trees in Bloom" (3-21-2017) on Spring Equinox day, contrasting the photos
by the Los Altos Library of apricot trees bare (2-13-2016) and blooming (2-28-2016).

Liling treated me and her friends to a fruit birthday cake on April 15, 2017 after ballroom
dancing at Cubberley Pavilion. When she told me her birthday is on Tax Day, I said there are
more positive events on that day. Didn't want to tell her that April 15, 1912 was the sinking of
RMS Titanic after it hit the iceberg. I rounded up inspiring messages written on April 15 from
my spiritual mentors. Imagined them "At a Round Table Meeting: April 15" reciting what they
wrote that day. Gathered postage stamps of my heroes in compiling this poem (4-29-2017)

While throwing away old papers and printouts, came across Community Church News flyer
(March 1972) reminding me of Ciardi's talk "The Longest Walk in the Universe: Dante's Divine Comedy (3-19-1972) at New England Life Hall. Even though that event was 45 years ago, I recall vividly his first words— "A man is defined by his attention. Dante's attention was God. That's why he experienced Paradise." That's how "John Ciardi: Friend or Foe?" was written (5-1-2017).
The phrase "Friend or Foe" comes from the 1952 Topps trading cards "Wings: Friend or Foe".

Liling (April 15 birthday), said she was born in a Tiger Year. Since my Dad was born in a Tiger Year, I had compiled "Tiger Year People" as part of my research on Lunar Calendar Year People. Going through this list, there were 15 Tiger-Year people of royalty, and 18 Tiger-Year Poets. The poem "Tiger-Year Poets Reading at a Tiger Grotto" (5-5-2017) was compiled soon afterwards.

"Seeing the Soul Everywhere" (8-21-2017) is one of many poems on the Platonic Lambda (Timaeus 35b) "Soul of the Universe". The artworks of Giacometti and Leonardo showed the Λ-shape whenever we're walking or breathing. Now, I see this "Soul-Shape" in the flowers by my courtyard, and in the trees down the street, gathering 9 photos showing its occurrence.

"Solar Eclipse: August 21, 2017" (9-1-2017) celebrates the total eclipse of the Sun on August 21, 2017 as I rounded up 9 postage stamps honoring past solar eclipses. It's amazing that the solar eclipse observed by Thales on May 28, 585 B.C. and the solar eclipse of May 29, 1919 confirming Einstein's Theory of Relativity were separated by exactly 2504 years.

Finding my July 25, 1994 notes of Chandraekhar's Monet Lecture and his autographed book Truth and Beauty triggered my memory of that date inspired this poem "Chandrasekhar's Stanford Monet Lecture" (9-9-2017), written on the first anniversary of my friend Connie's passing.

"Surprise Lunch with Two Feathered Friends" (9-12-2017) was written after finding photos of Red Hawk, Mt. Shasta Medicine Man talking to us on Native American spirituality, and Hammond's Flycatchers eating seeds off my hands amidst Douglas Firs during my Mt. Shasta Medicine Walk on 7-27-1989.

"Two Cooper's Hawks on the Bench" (10-2-2017) was written after assembling Cooper's Hawks images in Photoshop when the raptors sat on bench by my mailbox & flew away when I got my camera.

While waiting for Bus #40 at Jane Lane & Rengstorff Ave to Foothill College, an ovate leaf fell on the bench. As I looked at its yellow-veined resembling some mighty river, it seems to be singing. That's how "Yellow-Veined Leaf Sings" (10-3-2017) was born. The Notes with the rivers mentioned in the poem were assembled three days later.

"Turning Negative Noise to Something Positive" (10-9-2017) was inspired by constant banging of nails in the building construction across the street that wakes me up at 7 am for the past several months. When a friend suggested that this construction is kicking me in the butt to tackle my bucket list, it gave me more incentive to complete a book before the apartment is complete.

The Google Doodle celebrating Fridtjof Nansens 156th birthday on October 10, 2017 reminded me of this Nordic hero whose quote "The difficult takes a little while; the impossible a little longer." has urged me onward whenever difficult tasks confront me. It also brought back an event 41 years ago on August 20, 1976 when Paul Brunton told me "Nothing Is Impossible!" covering four cities in four hours to accomplish the tasks that afternoon. Such is the efficiency of a sage who told me "Yoga is skill in action." That's how "Nothing Is Impossible" (10-10-2017) was written.

When I found the December 4, 1986 cut-out from Palo Alto Times Tribune on Aldo Ciccolini, it triggered my memory of meeting him after his piano concert at Stanford that inspired the poem "Aldo Ciccolini 1986 Stanford Concert" (10-12-2017).

The poem "Meditations on 96" (10-24-2017) honors my Cornell Professor H. A. Scheraga's 96th birthday on October 18, 2017. The Notes show how the poem was constructed, citing poets & philosophers from King David's Psalms 96 to Mary Oliver's "first white heron" in line 96 of her "Evening star" poem (2000).

"Platonic Lambda Business Cards" (10-30-2017) was written after realizing the business cards
of Sean Headrick (CEO Aerotestra), David Massolo (photographer), and Stephen Wolfram (CEO
Mathematica), that I carried in my wallet all showed the image of Platonic Lambda Λ "Soul of the Universe". Six auto logos with the Λ image were included illustrating this poem along with American Airlines & AAA.

The poem "Meditations on 66" (12-14-2017) was written for my friend Cathy's 66th birthday. The Notes show how the poem was constructed, citing poets & philosophers from King David's Psalms 66(1000 BC) to Pablo Neruda's "Love Sonnet 66" (1960). Words with numerology of 66 were woven into the last stanza.

The poem "Playground at Grandma's Place" (12-25-2006) was written 11 years ago, and found in an email printed 12-26-2006 while cleaning my apartment. I retrieved it in Yahoo Email so it needed no re-typing. It brought back fond memories of Connie who passed away on 9-9-2016.

My former student and friend Deborah Oakley, a professor of architecture at UNLV came for a visit. We hiked at Shoup Park's Redwood Grove, Huddart Park, and Half Moon Bay Beach on May 22. During dinner at Veggie Grill, she told me her dream of Paul Brunton. Mentioned to her that I also dreamt of PB and wrote a poem— "A Dream of Philosophical Beauty" (12-20-1972) based on my dream (12-25-1971). I'm including this poem of 45 years ago with my Poems of 2017.

Peter Y. Chou
Mountain View, December 20, 2017