|
|
|
Classic and Contemporary Poetry
LI HO, by JAMES HARRISON Poet Analysis Poet's Biography
First Line: Li ho of the province of honan
Last Line: He hears a child cry.
Alternate Author Name(s): Harrison, Jim
Subject(s): China; Grief; Loss; Poetry & Poets; Sorrow; Sadness
First Line: Li ho of the province of honan
Last Line: He hears a child cry.
Alternate Author Name(s): Harrison, Jim
Subject(s): China; Grief; Loss; Poetry & Poets; Sorrow; Sadness
Li Ho of the province of Honan
(not to be confused with the god Li Po
of Kansu or Szechwan
who made twenty thousand verses),
Li Ho, whose mother said,
"My son daily vomits up his heart,"
mounts his horse and rides
to where a temple lies as lace among foliage.
His youth is bargained
for some poems in his saddlebag -
his beard is gray. Leaning
against the flank of his horse he considers
the flight of birds
but his hands are heavy. (Take this cup,
he thinks, fill it, I want to drink again.)
Deep in his throat, but perhaps it is a bird,
he hears a child cry.
Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!
Other Poems of Interest...
SONOMA FIRE by JANE HIRSHFIELD
AS THE SPARKS FLY UPWARDS by JOHN HOLLANDER
WHAT GREAT GRIEF HAS MADE THE EMPRESS MUTE by JUNE JORDAN
CHAMBER MUSIC: 19 by JAMES JOYCE
DIRGE AT THE END OF THE WOODS by LEONIE ADAMS
THE IDEA OF BALANCE IS TO BE FOUND IN HERONS AND LOONS by JAMES HARRISON