Each a petalled parade of trees. In succession,
processing through warmer days, fleeing
before Spring winds. Every frail and pretty
pastel has pathos enough to break a heart.
Then leaves break through 
- and there's an end of it.  

I want to celebrate, like at a wake. Half funeral 
half christening, libations for the infant's head.
Halcyon* these heydays. 
Fledglings on a weeping willow bough
swift, electric blue as lightning 
where the winding river hides ahead. 
This boat bears no honours in its wash
just a hidebound passenger travelling through.
If joy is there for all the world to see
then why such poignancy, in every passing place?

39 thoughts on “Winding river”

1. I love this… you captured/improved so much on the poem (or its translation) especially love the emphasis of the death/birth part in the end of blossom and beginning of leaves… I always thought that leaves are a little bit like a shroud.

   1. many thanks Bjorn – an interesting view of leaves you have especially given the poet’s grief for the end of blossoms

2. Oh my heart .. this is absolutely stunning, Laura! So much to love especially the parallel between, “Every frail and pretty pastel has pathos enough to break a heart/I grieve as myriad points float in the wind.” Wowww! 💝💝

   1. thank you Sanaa – as soon as I read the Du Fu poem, I felt an affinity with him across cultures and centuries

      1. I felt the same way about Wang Wei! You’re welcome 😀

3. I love your interpretation, Laura, and that you have used caesura in most lines. I also love how you’ve played with the word ‘break’ in the first stanza, especially in these lines:
   ‘…Every frail and pretty
   pastel has pathos enough to break a heart.
   Then leaves break through
   – and there’s an end of it’.

   1. I did wonder if the rhythm was a little too broken but the caesuras are like the rests between the poets thoughts. 😉

      1. Yes, they are. 🙂

4. Laura- this is so beautiful and you’ve given the original poem so much richness.

   1. thank you Linda – I aimed to follow closely without copy-catting

5. You most certainly accomplished that!

6. You have really captured the essence, the poignancy of the original here but most definitely in your own style. I absolutely love the line ‘Halcyon these heydeys.’

   1. as with you, this poem spoke to me

7. Laura, I’m imagining a person in a boat, traveling down a river and passing by the things you mention, each eliciting a memory and “assessment” based on the now rather than the the original then, almost as if the rider traveled with one expectation but felt something different because they were no longer the same person. Beautiful rendering/re-interpretation.

   1. thank you for all the feedback and what is an interesting interpretation –

      1. You’re very welcome.

8. This is beautiful written.

   I especially liked:

   Every frail and pretty
   pastel has pathos enough to break a heart.
   Then leaves break through
   – and there’s an end of it.

   I want to celebrate, like at a wake. Half funeral
   half christening, libations for the infant’s head.

   1. I appreciate your appreciation

9. “Then leaves break through/– and there’s an end of it.” The harshness mixing with the need to come to some sense of joy and meaning is beautifully expressed in the imagery. And the starkly poignant closing question crushes it: bravo!

   1. you have tuned right in to the sentiments I tried to convey – thank you, Dora!

      1. My pleasure entirely.

10. This was powerful in it’s winding imagery. I was especially moved by “I want to celebrate, like at a wake. Half funeral half christening, libations for the infant’s head.” Love it!

    1. Nice observation and many thanks Tricia – I was not too conscious of the ‘winding’ aspects but life and death are certainly wound in tightly here

11. Oh my gosh I felt the sadness as blossoms die 😢 Yet, we must celebrate their life, as if at a wake. I love that ☺️💕

    1. glad you felt it here Christine – it is epitomized in the sakura festivals of Japan

       1. What a lovely custom! Beautifully rendered Laura ☺️

12. A great interpretation of the poem Laura. I really liked these lines…

    I want to celebrate, like at a wake. Half funeral
    half christening, libations for the infant’s head.

    1. thank you Dwight – our lives are always torn between those aspects

       1. You are welcome!

13. Oh wow! What a stunning interpretation. I so felt these lines…

    “Every frail and pretty
    pastel has pathos enough to break a heart.
    Then leaves break through
    – and there’s an end of it.”

    Such is the cycle.

    1. indeed that is the cycle but it brings out the Faustian cry in me of “Beautiful moment, do not pass away!”

14. Every frail and pretty
    pastel has pathos enough to break a heart.
    Then leaves break through
    – and there’s an end of it.

    Laura, I cannot be certain, I imagine that Du Fu would have been humbled by your vivid reinterpretation.

    ❤
    David

    1. thank you for making me smile David – such a nice thought but even if Du Fu was to say “ah yes, you understand” I would be happy with that 🙂

15. This is so amazingly beautiful!! “Halcyon these heydays” Joy and happiness are totally two separate entities.

    1. thank you Mary – good point you make there too

16. You expand on the image of the original, but maintain its central theme. I like the use of “Halcyon.”

    1. good word that – and beautiful kingfisher blue too

17. Your poem continues the flavour of the original so well. I especially love the line ‘Every frail and pretty pastel has pathos enough to break a heart.’ Beautiful.

    1. thank you – I was struck with the original sentiments that seemingly reflect my own

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