In The Real World

 

While doodling, this was composed in one sitting… However, I felt it was too direct. 不願醒came into mind as I was waking up in the next morning…

1 蓮池月色宴歌聲 A moonlit night in the lotus pond and sounds of banquet songs,
2 千杯難逢不願醒 ‘tis rare that to meet a thousand cups and nary a wish to sober up.
3 一夜春雨夢舊日 One rainy night of spring to dream of old times,
4 五更啼雞面虛情 Upon the hour of fifth, a crowing rooster faces relations of not real.

1 The reflections of the night on the lotus pond can be seen but not touched nor the music but only heard.

2 The thousand cups of wine are personified to provide buddy warmth, comfort, support, familiarity etc. Of course, the amount taken is an exaggeration. If taken literally, alcohol poisoning would ensue.

3 Spring, rain, etc. denotes propagative properties of nature. It doesn’t take a leap of imagination to figure out what this line actually means. This line also hints of the long departed halcyon days of youth.

4 This is a very loaded line! From the previous line, this line infers a huge age gap. We do not know if the older partner is unable to love physically or if the younger partner entered into the relationship is for something other than love.

The theme is expressed in the last two lines is that in a virtual world of make believe, feelings are real whereas in the real world, all relationships have an ulterior motive. It does not matter if any equitable exchange exists or not. “Fair exchange is no robbery”.

Tuesday, April 25, 2023