Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, A LAMENT ON HIS FATHER'S DEATH, by LIU HENG


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

A LAMENT ON HIS FATHER'S DEATH, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: I look up, the curtains are there as of yore
Last Line: Oh, where were the gods when that great hero died!
Subject(s): Fathers; Orphans; Foundlings


I look up, the curtains are there as of yore;
I look down, and there is the mat on the floor;
These things I behold, but the man is no more.

To the infinite azure his spirit has flown,
And I am left friendless, uncared-for, alone,
Of solace bereft, save to weep and to moan.

The deer on the hillside charmingly bleat,
And offer the grass for their young ones to eat,
While birds of the air to their nestlings bring meat.

But I a poor orphan must ever remain,
My heart, still so young, overburdened with pain,
For him I shall never set eyes on again.

'Tis a well-worn old saying, which all men allow,
That grief stamps the deepest of lines on the brow:
Alas for my hair, it is silvery now!

Alas for my father, cut off in his pride!
Alas that no more I may stand at his side!
Oh, where were the gods when that great hero died!






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