are your feet tired
baby
from all that running
in my mind
she says
that seductive smile
slightly parted lips
the hint of a tongue
lying in wait
all this
her eyes say
and heaven too
only seconds
from now
hear my knock
again that smile
now open the door
from a line by Li Shang-yin: on the shore of the world
here
on the shore
of the world
one looks back
with clear eyes
at once was
at how little
has changed
oh how brief
the ice melts
in the glass
of Black Bush
and my mind
like the ice
dissolves
into memories
of shared bottles
of old friends
of time past
and oh how brief
ice lasts
in a glass
Drinking Alone in a Small Garden by Li Shang-yin
Who could have knit the willow’s belts?
The flower buds are unwilling to open yet.
Only a pair of dancing butterflies are left;
Not a single person has come here.
I half unfold the dragon-whisker mat,
And lightly pour into the horse-brain cup.
Every year the arrival of spring is uncertain;
I have been deceived by the early blooming plum!
translated by James J.Y. Liu
my absence
I will be absent from blogging for the entire month of June.
Hope you are all well and safe during this slow return to a semblance of normalcy.
a variation on Mei Yao-ch’en for Qiaoen traveling in China: this little boat
this little boat
out to sea
and you
sitting on a cushion
on the deck
your almost naked body
basking in the sun
a hand cupping breast
your uplifted face
open to the light
awaits the morning
Aboard a Boat at Night, Drinking with My Wife by Mei Yao-ch’en
The moon appears from the mouth of the sheer bluff,
its light shining behind the boat over there.
I sit drinking alone with my wife;
how much better than facing some dreary stranger!
The moonlight slowly spreads over our mat,
dark shadows bit by bit receding.
What need is there to fetch a torch?
We’ve joy enough in this light alone.
translated by Burton Watson
Goodbye At The River by Li Po
In this little river town
the autumn rain lets up
the wine’s all gone
well then, goodbye!
you stretch out in your boat
the sail fills, you skim home
past islands burning with flowers
banks crowded with willows
what about me? I don’t know
I think I’ll go sit
on that big rock
and fish
translated by David Young
Conversation Among Mountains by Li Po
You ask why I live
in these green mountains
I smile
can’t answer
I am completely at peace
a peach blossom
sails past
on the current
there are worlds
beyond this one
translated by David Young
By The Yangtze River by Li Zhiyi
I’m living upstream and you downstream
Day by day, you are the one I am missing.
Even if we can’t meet,
We are in the same drink.
The time when the water stops flowing,
Is the time of the end of my grief.
I’m wishing your heart was also missing me.
Then my pining for you has a meaning.
translated by Edison Lai
Thanks to Qiaoen for sharing this.
