Friday, January 12, 2018

Autumn Daybreak, Walking through a Deserted Village in South Valley



Autumn Daybreak, Walking through a Deserted Village in  South Valley

at autumn’s end, frost and dew hanging heavy,
rise at dawn to walk through a hidden valley—

yellow leaves have enveloped the creek bridge,
in the deserted village, nothing but ancient trees—

winter blossoms here and there, sparse and lonely,
the stream’s murmur cut off, then picks up again—

my heart’s desires long since have been put aside:
what is it that startles the milu deer?



Translation © Jack Hayes 2018
Based on Liu Zongyuan: 秋曉行南谷經荒村
Qiū Xiăo Xíng Nán Gŭ Jīng Huāng Cūn


Note: Milu—also known as Père David’s deer—are essentially extinct in the wild, though a small feral population does currently exist in China, composed of a herd that escaped a zoo. Otherwise, the milu only exist in zoos. Dating back to prehistorical times, milu ranged across all of China, though the population shrank steadily during historical times. The milu are sometimes called “sibuxiang” (Chinese: 四不像; pinyin: sì bú xiàng), which could be translated as “four not alike”; they are variously described as having "the hooves of a cow but not a cow, the neck of a camel but not a camel, antlers of a deer but not a deer, the tail of a donkey but not a donkey"; "the nose of a cow but not a cow, the antlers of a deer but not a deer, the body of a donkey but not a donkey, tail of a horse but not a horse"; "the tail of a donkey, the head of a horse, the hoofs of a cow, the antlers of a deer"; "the neck of a camel, the hoofs of a cow, the tail of a donkey, the antlers of a deer"; "the antlers of a deer, the head of a horse and the body of a cow".



Image links to its source on Wiki Commons:
“Snow Mountains”: Guo Xi. 11th Century. Public domain.

Thursday, January 11, 2018

After Lunch


After Lunch


after the meal: doze off for one nap;
waking, it’s time for two bowls of tea—
raise my head to gaze at the sun; it’s
already turned southwest, light slanting—
those who are glad rue the urgent sun;
those who grieve hate the distant new year—
those knowing neither grief nor gladness
bear life, long or short, to the far shore



translation © Jack Hayes 2018
based on Bai Juyi: 食後
Shí Hòu



Image links to its source on Wiki Commons:
Excerpts from Bai Juyi's "Biography of a Master of Drunken Poetry": calligraphy by Fujiwara no Yukinari(972 – 1028); detached section of a handscroll mounted as a hanging scroll; ink on paper – early 11th century.
Public domain



Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Moon Poem


Moon Poem


perched on the highest peak I gaze
in all directions without end—
no one knows I sit here alone;
orphan moon shines on the cold stream,
but there’s no moon within the stream:
the moon’s after all in blue skies—
I recite this scrap of a song,
but in the song, no trace of Zen


translation © Jack Hayes 2018
based on Hanshan


For more on Hanshan (literally “Cold Mountain”) see this Wikipedia page.

Image links to its source on Wiki Commons:

“The Immortal Hanshan”: Attributed to Jiang Gui; c 1500 – Hanging scroll, ink on silk.

Public domain





Wednesday, January 3, 2018

On The Highest Tower In White Emperor Castle



On The Highest Tower In White Emperor Castle


on the walls the way’s sharp, narrow: in waning sun, pennants
signal mourning—
one stands alone on the misty tower’s soaring heights—

in the gorge cleft: cloud and fog where dragon and tiger sleep—
the sun-drenched Yangzi enfolds roaming turtles and alligators

western limbs of the Fusang Tree meet this severed stone;
eastern shadow of the Ruo River accompanies its long current

what son of man leans on his gooesfoot cane sighing for this
generation?
he weeps blood into thin air, turns his white head away


translation © Jack Hayes 2018
based on Du Fu: 白帝城最高樓
báidìchéng zuì gāo lóu



Note: This is a much more conventional reading of a poem Sheila Graham-Smith & I worked on (& posted) earlier.


Image links to its source on Wiki Commons:
Temple of the White Emperor, Baidicheng: photo by Wiki user Tomasz Dunn, [https://www.flickr.com/people/63651050@N00] who makes it available under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en]