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While doodling as usual with my brush writing practice to write out some characters, this line came into being, 山下雪影雲烟夢. However, nothing more came out of it and put it somewhere else. A few days later, I befriended someone from Facebook and we chatted. When he knew that writing Classical Chinese poetry is one of my passions that he requested me to write something for him. Such an endeavor is usually difficult since I need to know the person well first. He sent me a photo of him on the ski slopes in full gear. With sunglasses on and the person in a distance, it is nothing more than just a generic photo of someone on a ski trip. Since, it can be anyone, my poem about him would be a generic one as well. The background snow and the even more distant mountain ranges gave me the idea of using the unused line I had and wove an imaginary story... The only thing real is that his Chinese name is embedded in the poem.
2 五更漸臨月逍遙 The Hour of Fifth slowly approacheth, the moon in unhurried pace.
3 船頭杯傾橋尾醒 Cups runneth over at the boat’s prow and Sobriety awakened at the bridge’s end.
4 酒後歌盡殘星照 The songs had ended, inebriation no more, fading stars still kept on shining.
5 陳年往事雖莫提 Things of the past, though no longer spoken,
6 衷聲難忘舊日笑 ‘tis difficult to forget the sounds of the heart and smiles of bygone days.
7 啓明東有西長庚 The morning star in the east, the evening star in the west.
8 又晚寡帆洞庭宵 Once more as night befell, a lonely boat upon the waters of Lake Grotto Court.
1 Clouds are non-tangible things. Hence refers to things or matters that are trivial, easily dissolved, inconsequential, ethereal, impossible to grasp etc. A chance meeting on the ski slopes?
2 Reality is approaching but the dream is still reluctant to leave. A Chinese hour is equivalent to two modern hours. The fifth hour corresponds roughly to 3am - 5am.
3 Expanding on the theme of the previous line – dreams represented by the party and reality by sobriety.
4 All good things must come to an end and yet memory lingers on forever.
5 陳 is the last name.
7 The morning and evening star refers to planet Venus. 啓明 (announcing brightness/day) is the morning version and 長庚 (longevity) is the evening version. Outward appearance may change but its core remains the same. Part of his name appears on this line.
8 When night resurfaces, old habits die hard. In loneliness, nostalgia comes rushing back, trying to relive the dream once more. The last part of his name appears here.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dongting_Lake
Saturday, May 28, 2022
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