Over The Clouds

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.

四周矇矇白雲天 Everywhere is a sky of white clouds in haziness,
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.

1 東飛雲霞夕陽西 Flying through the colored clouds in the setting sun,
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.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cowherd_and_the_Weaver_Girl

And finally...

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