Meteor Tears

The impetus of this creation is the last three characters of the first line when it came to me from refinements for some earlier poem. Was able to complete after my jog and a great way to alleviate boredom.

1 風過池水夜細語 Over the pond, the wind passes as whispers of the night,
2 牆西影弄柳蔭處 And upon the wall where willows are, shadows are teased in sway.
3 默對九霄空如人 Yet gazing silently into the clear skies filled by emptiness of love bygone,
4 不禁天降流星雨 And Heaven could not help itself but to weep a rainstorm of shooting stars.

1 The main imagery in this line and the next are the indirect manifestations of wind through sounds made by ripples and the sight of dancing shadows.

2 Willows symbolize the female form. Hence, this poem is written from the viewpoint of a woman. The wall is the silver screen in which past events are being replayed.

3 The pivot line where things take on a more concrete and direct form - lovers, clear empty night skies and meteor showers. Chinese believe that there are nine layers of heaven.

4 Just using nature as a scapegoat for her emotions.

Thursday, 05 October 2023

As I was about to ink this poem with the brush, I found that the first line rhymes better as 風過池水夜語細. Had to redo the entire poem for the new rhyme.

1 柳蔭影弄騙牆西 Shadows of dancing willows deluding the walls on the west,

2 風過池塘夜語細 And wind over the pond, like whispered murmurs of the night.
3 覓盡九天空如人 Nine Heavens searched in vain, emptiness like thy presence of nowhere,
4 淚雨流星霑塵世 Drenched upon this mortal world are wept tears of shooting stars.

1 The slenderness of the willow represents the feminine form. Shadows on the west wall indicate the setting moon.

2 With the previous line, they describe the scenery reminded of the good times in the past.

3 There are nine levels of heaven in Chinese mythology.

Thursday, 19 October 2023