moon, flowers, woman, and wine

 

Well, my love is away, and we have been apart for over a week now, and two days to go. I am lonely but not too; after the conference and the very pleasant but busy visit with my brother and sister-in-law in Detroit, I am happy to have some time alone. Alone that is, but not alone. I have Guerlain’s princess Nahema, a blowsy dark friend who floats around me, whispering in my ear. I have a glass of wine. and I have the moon. And I have my poems, one of which reflects my sentiments tonight exactly.

Moon, Flowers, Man

I raise my cup and invite
The moon to come down from the
Sky. I hope she will accept
Me. I raise my cup and ask
The branches, heavy with flowers,
To drink with me. I wish them
Long life and promise never
To pick them. In company
With the moon and the flowers,
I get drunk, and none of us
Ever worries about good
Or bad. How many people
Can comprehend our joy? I
Have wine and moon and flowers.
Who else do I want for drinking companions?

 

I raise a glass to you all as well, my fragrance companions. Enjoy your Friday night, be it filled with joy and human companions, or with silence and more ethereal ones!

 

su tung p’o translated by Kenneth Rexroth

CREDITS:

painting by Liu Danzhian,  taken from http://wdtprs.com/blog/2007/09/27/

rexroth translation taken from http://www.bopsecrets.org/rexroth/translations/chinese.htm

 

If you liked this post, I would be very grateful if you would consider joining my blog,  through RSS feed, Facebook networked blogs, google friendconnect, or any other way that appeals to you. I also always love getting comments!