Thoughts of you unending
here in Ch’ang-an,
crickets where the well mirrors year-end golds cry out
autumn, and under a thin frost, mats look cold, ice-cold.
My lone lamp dark, thoughts thickening, I raise blinds
and gaze at the moon. It renders the deepest lament
empty. But you’re lovely as a blossom born of cloud,
skies opening away all bottomless azure above, clear
water all billows and swelling waves below. Skies endless
for a spirit in sad flight, the road over hard passes
sheer distance, I’ll never reach you, even in dreams,
my ruins of the heart,
thoughts of you unending.
translated by David Hinton
This is achingly beautiful!
My thought exactly.
Ach. Heart-ache…..
That it is.
Reblogged this on Leonard Durso.
No warm and fuzzy, nothing fluffy, just…I dunno…can something be both warm and bleak? That’s the beauty of this poem.
Yes, I believe yours is as apt a description as any.
What does he mean when he says crickets where the well Morris year-end golds cry out
he is referring to crickets beside a well (for drinking water) that mirrors (reflects) the colors (in this case golds) of the changing season (since it’s year-end then winter though I personally associate the color gold with autumn). Hope this helps with your understanding.