Deep in spring, the rain's passed - West Lake is good.
A hundred grasses vie in beauty,
Confusion of butterflies, clamour of bees,
The clear day hurries the blossom to burst forth in the warmth.
Oars in lilies, a painted barge moving without haste.
I think I see a band of sprites -
Light reflected in the ripples,
The high wind carries music over the broad water.
14 comments:
Hi Alaine
I love the sparseness and simplicity of Chinese and Japanese poetry.
The words have a potency to create imagery without muddying the mood...
This is a lovely poem thanks Alaine.
Have you travelled in China...
Happy days
Delwyn, thank you and no, we haven't travelled in China but had a stopover of one day there in '07. We wanted to see a market, so hired a taxi which drove for an hour to a beautiful beach area on the mainland, dotted with mansions and perfect gardens. My Mother wanted to see the Great Wall and never did and I don't think I will either. Time's running out.
Alaine: What a lovely mood you have created with the image and the text. The light behind the pagoda is simply perfect. Thank you.
hello alaine - even though we're on opposite ends of the seasonal wheel, the grasses - which are turned golden and the butterflies and bees are out in clamourous profusion here as well!!! a gorgeous peom and an image to open out the words even further. lovely! thanks, steven
Bonnie, not my photo, of course but I was lucky enough to find one of West Lake that features in Ouyang Xiu's 'West Lake Poems'(10)in the Northern Song Dynasty.
Steven, we have green everywhere at present; much like Ireland! Have just finished digging over a patch and planted six Apollo Tomatoes for Summer. More will follow when we get another burst of energy!
I think I got Xiu's name from your list of poets and enjoyed what I read. This is what Wiki says about this style of poetry -
'Ouyang's poetry bears the characteristic of literary playfulness common to Northern Song poetry. For example, many poems have titles that indicate that they originated in rhyme games and feature extensive rhyming schemes throughout.'
"I think I see a band of sprites"...Yes, I think I can see them in this photo, Alaine... captivating! :o)
Hi Alaine,
Lovely words and picture indeed. I like the idea of sprites and music over the water.
Lovely photo, love the water lilys, so visable everywhare in China and the charming poem to go with it.
Hello Tracy, I can see the barge way out there, too. Thanks for popping by.
Hi Derrick, thank you. I saw a photo recently of sprites that Nasa has captured.
I know how music carries over water. I was playing the piano for guests one night about 11pm and received an anonymous phone call from a neighbour to quit. The music was hitting the water of our pool and I'm pretty sure it was the neighbour over the back fence! I played one more piece!!
Hi Ann, thanks for visiting from Ireland. I think it's my first Irish visitor. You have a lovely blog.
What a stunning photograph! Lovely poem fits perfectly, too!
Thanks for the birthday wishes on my blog yesterday! :)
Hello Betsy, thank you and it's a pleasure; I hope you had a very happy day. Thanks for visiting!
Post a Comment