Li Po (701-762 B.C.)
I woke this morning and thought of you:
how your bright and your faded flowers
shone upon the waves like candles
then raced away from your open hands
on streams running faster than years.
You cast your poems with courage upon the water
but brushed the name of Hou Ying the recluse
into a poem for us, would have offered him wine,
perhaps even your wives,
as I offer both of you this poem to sleep with.
Don't be lonely Hou Ying - the moon loves you
more than any woman. The same moon
shines on me now as I think of my love
who lies beyond the mountains and the snows,
frail as blossom, graceful and supple as willow.
(c) Gerard Rochford 2009.
Gerard Rochford is a well established and acclaimed poet from Aberdeen, Scotland. You can find out more about his work here.
Li Po (Li Bai) is recognised, along with Du Fu, as one of the two greatest poets in Chinese literary history. You can find out more about Li Po here. |
