(no subject)

[arliss]

Poetry meme--When you see this in your friend's journal, post a poem.


fragrant grass beside the pond
green shade over the hall
a clear cold comes through
the window curtains
crescent moon beyond the golden bars
and a flute sounds
as if someone were coming
but alone on my mat with a cup
gazing sadly into nothingness
I want to call back
the blackberry flowers
that have fallen
though pear blossoms remain
for in that distant year
I came to love their fresh fragrance
scenting my sleeve
as we culled petals over the fire
when as far as the eye could see
were dragon boats on the river
graceful horses and gay carts
when I did not fear the mad winds
and violent rain
as we drank to good fortune
with warm blackberry wine
now I cannot concieve
how to retrieve
that time


tune: Courtyard Filled With Fragrance



from: Plum Blossoms
Poems of Li Ch'ing-Chao
Translated by James Cryer

Comments

[sail-aweigh.livejournal.com]

Oh, that is just so beautiful. I want to be there, too.

[fufaraw]

Isn't she wonderful? She lived from 1084 till around 1150, was married to an aristocrat who was active in court politics. He was often absent on official business, which is why so many of her poems are about her missing him.

she's respected as China's greatest composer of tz'u, poems written to old song tunes (whose words were often lost), keeping the rhyme and tonal scheme and the irregular line lengths of the original, but using new words. And most often a completely different mood or theme than the original song.

I lucked across Plum Blossoms in a second hand bookshop. It's a printing of only 1,000, and this copy is signed by both translator and illustrator. It's one of my treasures.