I sing a sad song when I want to weep,
gaze far off when I want to go home.
I miss my old place.
Inside me, a dense mesh of grief.
But there’s no one to go back to,
no boat across that river.
The heart is bursting, but my tongue is dead.
My guts are twisting like a wagon wheel.
translated by Tony Barnstone & Chou Ping
very explicit
Yes, but that works rather nicely in this poem, don’t you think?
I do
It’s amazing. In this simple poem you can see some of the major themes that would flourish when verse bloomed in the T’ang and Sung dynasties.
Themes we’re still dealing with today, which is why these poems resonate with us.
& the tune of this music is less heard but felt
And felt deeply, my friend.