Asian Poem-Grass by Bai Juyi (Karl Lim)

Part part plain on grass                      The grass is spreading out across the plain,
One year one wither flourish              Each year, it dies, then flourishes again.
Prairie fire burn not destroy               It's burnt but not destroyed by prairie fires,
Spring wind blow again life               When spring winds blow they bring it back to life.
Distant fragrance invade old path     Afar, its scent invades the ancient road,
Clear emerald meet ruined town      Its emerald green overruns the ruined town.
Again see off noble friend go            Again I see my noble friend depart,
Crowded full parting feeling              I find I'm crowded full of parting's feelings.

The main theme about this poem is "Parting". It basically says that when you part with somebody, they will come back. The structure is very simple. There are only five characters on every line, but every line actually says a lot. The poem uses many different objects as a metaphor for his friend.

source : http://www.chinese-poems.com/bo4t.html

No Loss, No Gain by Rajaram Ramachandran (Kenny Ramos)

"No Loss No Gain"

The candle melts itself,
And the wick burns itself,
Just to give us away its light.

The incense stick ashes itself,
And turns to smoke itself,
Just to give us its aroma.

The sandalwood grinds itself,
And a paste, it becomes itself,
Just to give us away its scent.

The rose crushes itself,
And in water sinks itself,
Just to give us its flavor-drink.

The sugar cane crushes itself,
And becomes crystal itself,
Just to sweeten our food.

The field takes the seeds itself,
And turns them into plants itself,
Just to give us rich corn.

The tree labors itself,
And grows tall itself,
Just to give us its juicy fruits.

The cocoon spins itself,
And then unwinds itself,
Just to give us its silk.

The milk curdles itself,
And again churns itself,
Just to give us its butter.

The mother suffers pain herself,
But still smiles herself,
Just to feed the baby with her milk.

The camphor fumes itself,
And turns black smoke itself,
Just to illuminate the Lord.

One can gain something,
Only by losing something,
That's the law of nature.

Yes, the sacrifice's the mother,
Of what, in our life, we gather,
As the fruit of our labor.

So, grieve not over your loss,
A stepping stone to your success,
If you want to remain happy always.

-Rajaram Ramachandran

India

(Source: http://naishinnoumouko.tripod.com/id1.html)

The poem is simple. It is basically a poem form of the saying "No pain, no gain." The structure is simple: it is in a three-line stanza. It doesn't follow a rhyme (since it only rhymed up to the twelfth stanza, and even then only the first two lines rhyme per stanza) or a meter. What is notable is that in all the examples he used, he kept repeating the last word of the first two lines (ie itself and herself). It is to say that the work done by the object/plant/person is basically done by just itself, with no help.

Asian Poem - Basho's Old Pond (John Cocabo)

Basho's Old Pond

古池や蛙飛込む水の音

ふるいけやかわずとびこむみずのおと

furuike ya kawazu tobikomu mizu no oto (transliterated into romaji)

This separates into on as:

fu-ru-i-ke ya (5)

ka-wa-zu to-bi-ko-mu (7)

mi-zu no o-to (5)

Translated:

old pond . . .

a frog leaps in

water’s sound

This poem was written in traditional Japanese Haiku form and has the imagery of natural pond life. What is being depicted in the poem, much like its structure is very simple, and ordinary- almost plain. However, the words are sufficient enough to complete a thought (about the cause and effect phenomenon in nature) just like how its structure is just right for going with the 5-7-5 traditional Haiku structure (no more no less in terms of syllables.)  Yet there is an irony that although the poem depicts nature or something that happens naturally, the structural organization of the Haiku as a form of poetry shows some sort of unnatural or forced because the syllables had to fit in the 5-7-5 organization.

Due to the Haiku being a traditional form of writing poems for the Japanese, most of the imagery are about natural entities like love, the seasons and life. Haikus didn't have to rhyme, but the biggest challenge was to paint a clear image in the reader's imagination in 17 syllables- no more no less. 

Source:

http://volweb.utk.edu/school/bedford/harrisms/haiku.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiku#cite_note-18

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-old-pond/