/ Sad Song for Spring
Plum blossoms proclaim the sun’s warm message —
the last winter month has faded,
it’s spring again.
East winds have melted the north shore ice.
New Year’s eve is past
and it’s Spring Festival Day
with mid-spring coming on.
Warm weather
and the flowers and leaves flourish.
In perfumed carriages
with jade reins in hand
sight-seers become intoxicated.
Now Spring Festival is over
willow catkins fall in flurries.
Beyond the isolated village
I hear a cuckoo
and complain about the East Lord.
I lament the lovely days
already split into threes —
two parts flowing river, one part dust.
Silent, fallen flowers trouble the evening scene.
The damp, fragrant grass fears the coming night.
Tunes used: Scolding the Jade Boy, Gratitude for the Emperor’s Grace, Tea-plucking Song (during the Song Dynasty, poems were written to the tunes of popular songs).
This poem was particularly admired for the way the seasons pass during the passage from stanza to stanza.
Printed from Cerise Press: http://www.cerisepress.com
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