Rice Inspired Poetry

RICE
by Mary Oliver

It grew in the black mud.
It grew under the tiger's orange paws.
Its stems thinner than candles, and as straight.
Its leaves like the feathers of egrets, but green.
The grains cresting, wanting to burst.
Oh, blood of the tiger.

I don't want you just to sit down at the table.
I don't want you just to eat, and be content.
I want you to walk out into the fields
where the water is shining, and the rice has risen.
I want you to stand there, far from the white tablecloth.
I want you to fill your hands with the mud, like a blessing.

IBAN PRAYER
Quoted in Freeman (1970, 1540155)

Oh sacred padi,
You the opulent, you the distinguished,
Our padi of highest rank;
Oh sacred padi,
Here I am planting you;
Keep watch o'er your children,
Keep watch o'er your people,
Over the little ones, over the young ones,
Oh do not be laggard, do not be lazy,
Lest their be sickness, lest there be ailing;
You must visit your people, visit your children.
You who have been treated by Pulang Gana;
Oh do not neglect to give succour,
Oh do not tire, do not fail in your duty.

Vietnamese Folk Song
Quoted in Nguyen Ngoc Binh 1985

Some folks transplant rice for wages,

but I have other reasons.

I watch the sky, the earth, the clouds,

Observe the rain, the nights, the days,

keep track, stand guard till my legs

are stone, till the stone melts,

till the sky is clear and the sea calm.