My Beloved Grandchildren and ... (點點點 ... 拍照留念)

#2017-1020

These photos were taken on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017, at Qieding, Kaohsiung, by my daughter-in-law, Anita, while we were celebrating my first grandson's birthday.

His birthday is Oct. 18; it should be celebrated on the day before yesterday! But my wife and I came from Taichung yesterday, to be together with them for a couple of days -- while my son was away on business.

We'll stay there until the weekend . . .

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, BOY.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, LITTLE BEE!

New Friends (來自波斯的新朋友)

#2017-1008

I referred to the English Wikipedia by typing the word "Persia" (波斯) as a search key, and what popped up on my computer screen was this:

Iran (Persian: ایران‎‎ Irān [ʔiːˈɾɒːn] ( listen)), also known as Persia^[10] (/ˈpɜːrʒə/),^[11] officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian: جمهوری اسلامی ایران‎‎ Jomhuri-ye Eslāmi-ye Irān ( listen)),^[12] is a sovereign state in Western Asia.^[13][14] ....

Oh, it was a long page for me to read. The entry word was "Iran" (伊朗) instead of "Persia." But when I searched a little further, I found more information as follows:

Persia (disambiguation)

Persia, or Iran, is a country in Western Asia.

Persia may also refer to:

• Persia (name), Greek and Latin name for Iran, also known as Greater Iran
• Persia (EP), a 1984 EP by The Church
• RMS Persia, a steamship built in 1856
• SS Persia, various steamships by this name
• Persia, the Magic Fairy, a 1984 magical girl anime series by Studio Pierrot

Places

• Persian Empire, an empire in Western and Central Asia, founded in the 6th century BC
• Fars Province, a province in Iran, also known as Pārs, which means "Persia" in the Persian language
• Persian Gulf (Shākhāb-e Pārs), an extension of the Indian Ocean between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula
• Greater Iran
• Persia, Iowa, a US city
• Persia, New York, a US town

Anyway, there is much more for me to learn about such topics as Persia, Persian Empire, Iran, Greater Iran, and so on. I don't think I can "cover" all these things in a short period of time, but I'd like to "discover" something about these topics in the future -- yes, something new and interesting to me! ...

You know why I'm now interested in the subjects "Iran" and "Persia"? It's because Amir and Zary and their 7-month-old son (Ryan) came to St. James' this morning. Amir and Zary are from Iran. They and their son (so cute a little boy!) are our new friends. -- Well, the name "Amir" means "lord" or "prince"; the name "Zary" means "gold" or "light." And our new friends today are handsome and beautiful, just as their names indicate!

(middle and right) Amir and Zary; 

(the little boy) Ryan

中秋印象 -- The Moon Festival (2017)

#2017-1004

《丁酉年‧中秋印象：夜遊後山林園》

樓台賞月話中秋，
不比山中半夜遊。
巧遇資深男女會，
談心漫步好溫柔。
妻云到老當如此，
我笑其中恐有羞。
走出幽林說再見，
果然分道不回頭。

圖／文： Mookoo Liang

附記：本詩為紀實之作，押「上平聲十一尤」韻，其平仄格律屬於 baBAB 式：

平平仄仄仄平平，仄仄平平仄仄平。仄仄平平平仄仄，平平仄仄仄平平。

樓台賞月話中秋，不比山中半夜遊。巧遇資深男女會，談心漫步好溫柔。

平平仄仄平平仄，仄仄平平仄仄平。仄仄平平平仄仄，平平仄仄仄平平。

妻云到老當如是，我笑其中恐有羞。走出幽林說再見，果然分道不回頭。

相關圖文：The Mid-Autumn Moon (明台賞月) 

=     =     =

下圖為 2013 那年中秋節

所拍攝的「明台賞月」

A Photo Album by Xiuzhi Liang (大妹的作品)

#2017-0928

Title: The Album of Beauty (美的專輯)

The pictures below were taken by my first sister, Xiuzhi, with her iPhone (which she carries wherever she goes). This afternoon she shared with me hundreds of photos she had taken during her free time. I was so impressed that I asked if I could "re-share" a few of them with my blog readers. "No problem," she said. And here they are!

大妹用隨身攜帶的手機「紀錄」了許多美麗動人的「瞬間印象」。我看了極為感動，特徵得她的同意，在此 木咕子的家 (Mookoo's Home) 轉分享。祝大家天天健康愉快、平安喜樂！

《夜遊黃金海岸》

#2017-0922

《夜遊黃金海岸》

斜陽不及追，
夜幕已低垂。
拍岸升潮響，
風涼撲面吹。
棚燈窺海景，
暗處顯天規。
默禱神看守，
全家有主隨。

圖／文： Mookoo Liang

附註：此「黃金海岸」是台南市最南端的海岸線，與高雄市茄萣相鄰。本詩押「上平聲四支」韻，其平仄格律為 abABA式，但不屬於典型的五律，因為第二及第三聯缺乏嚴謹的對仗。就結構言，本詩依然是「起、承、轉、合」四段式寫法：首聯（斜陽 ... 夜幕 ...）為「起」，交代寫作背景，原想賞夕陽，卻來不及了；次聯（升潮 ... 風涼 ...）為「承」，寫出現場當時的漲潮聲，以及晚風所帶來的涼意；第三聯（棚燈 ... 暗處 ...）為「轉」，除了海的方向，也朝其他方向張望，看見堤岸上的飲食攤位，棚燈點點，又望向黑夜的天空，轉入一種深邃的哲思；最後，末聯為「合」，無論身在何處，總為了全家大小，求神保守，俾能蒙恩得福，與主同行。

A Paraphrase of 秋日登山有感

#2017-0915

Poetry is hard to be translated. But I'd like to share with my English-speaking readers a paraphrase of my poem "秋日登山有感" (Click here for the original version in Chinese).

The title 秋日登山有感 roughly means:

What Came to My Mind on an Autumn Day while I Was Walking up the Mountain

How many spring dreams last until autumn?
A restless heart causes a waste of time!
Now I'd no longer ask about earthly things;
I see Heaven again, singing holy hymns.

七絕：《秋日登山有感》

#2017-0914

七言絕句《秋日登山有感》

春夢秋時剩幾何，
心猿意馬老蹉跎；
今茲不再凡塵問，
又見靈天咏聖歌。

圖／文： Mookoo Liang

註：此七絕押「下平聲五歌」韻，其平仄格律為 abA 式（首句用韻）如下：

仄仄平平仄仄平，平平仄仄仄平平；平平仄仄平平仄，仄仄平平仄仄平。

月落烏啼霜滿天，江楓漁火對愁眠；姑蘇城外寒山寺，夜半鐘聲到客船。

君問歸期未有期，巴山夜雨漲秋池；何當共剪西窗燭，卻話巴山夜雨時。

春夢秋時剩幾何，心猿意馬老蹉跎；今茲不再凡塵問，又見靈天咏聖歌。