Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Journey with a Damaged Heart



Hold back a sob or two
Learn to chant clearly

A bruised bone
A hidden injury
Plain and simple

Such is autumnal beauty
On the verge
Of the first frost

The leaves still
On the trees
Crying in the wind
And rain

In the lamplight
Blue and black
The flowers sleep
Daubed in ink

Falling it shimmers
So goes the moth’s dance

The old walls
Have given birth
To a new layer of dust

My soul has been bridled
Now that this dream
Is put into words


心行



咽咽学楚吟     病骨幽素
秋姿白     木叶啼
灯青膏歇     落照蛾舞
古壁生凝     魂梦中
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Li He writes with great clarity of feeling, while also managing to maintain considerable opacity of meaning.  This is an important variation on the Tang spirit, presenting us with a gift of poetry that is very much emotionally accessible and yet something of a mystery at the same time. Falling it shimmers/ So goes the moth's dance.  How beautiful and evocative a line is that!        
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