Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, REMEMBERING GOLDEN BELLS, by PO CHU-YI


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

REMEMBERING GOLDEN BELLS, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Ruined and ill, - a man of two score
Last Line: Because, in the road, I met her foster-nurse.
Alternate Author Name(s): Bai Juyi; Bo Juyi; Po Chu-i; Lo T'ien; Jyu-yi
Subject(s): China - Tang Dynasty (618-905); Daughters; Death - Children; Grief; Death - Babies; Sorrow; Sadness


RUINED and ill, -- a man of two score;
Pretty and guileless, -- a girl of three.
Not a boy, -- but still better than nothing:
To soothe one's feeling, -- from time to time a kiss!
There came a day, -- they suddenly took her from me;
Her soul's shadow wandered I know not where.
And when I remember how just at the time she died
She lisped strange sounds, beginning to learn to talk,
Then I know that the ties of flesh and blood
Only bind us to a load of grief and sorrow.
At last, by thinking of the time before she was born,
By thought and reason I drove the pain away.
Since my heart forgot her, many days have passed
And three times winter has changed to spring.
This morning, for a little, the old grief came back,
Because, in the road, I met her foster-nurse.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net