Three poems were written to kill time while flying from Bangkok to Narita
This was taken after lunch. The sky and clouds always fascinate me at this height where I am above all of them.
萬尺騰飛難入眠 Flying over ten thousand feet and slumber is difficult.
空虛莫識仙家處 There is emptiness but no abode of immortals recognized,
蔽目又見在眼前 But as eyes a closed, do they then appear in front of thy eyes.
After lunch and working on the draft of this poem, I
took a nap but was rudely awakened by a lady moving through the galley rather briskly and hit my foot.
2 銀河漸流蓋天南 Covering the southern skies is the slow flow of the Silver River.
3 舉杯欲問嫦娥處 Lifting a cup, wanting to ask the whereabouts of Moon Goddess,
4 又恐來輝暗星淡 But afraid that as she comes, her brilliance may dim the stars.
5 愁飲獨對半壺空 In sorrowful sips, I faced the half empty jug of wine alone,
6 寒宮無人相會難 Difficult it is to meet when no one is in cold lunar Palace.
7 眺遠霄漢七夕夜 Gazing afar into heaven on the Night of Seventh,
8 雙星重聚心更煩 The meeting of the twin stars aches my heart even more.
2 The Milky Way is known as the Silver River in Chinese.
3 Chang Er is the lunar goddess
6 The Palace of Great Frigidity is the name of lunar palace where Chang Er lives
7 Seventh Night is the Chinese version of Valentine’s Day.
8 The stars of Altair and Vega or the Cowherd and the Weaver Maid.
1 醒後重見昨夜夢 Dream from last night still remembered as I woke up,
2 杯在人去再逢空 The cup is here but gone is the person I shall meet again in futility.
3 未登廣寒酒先到 Even before the moon was reached, stupor was already there,
4 誤錯良辰別匆匆 And missed the good times in hurried departure.
3 The Palace of Boundless Cold is the name where the moon goddess Chang Er lives. “Not yet flown into the Palace of Boundless Cold” is a euphemism for a failed tryst.
4 “hurried departure” – waking up too quickly from the dream.
Friday, September 23, 2022
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