Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, SEPARATION, by PO CHU-YI


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

SEPARATION, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Yesterday I heard that such-a-one was gone
Last Line: And laughing gaze into each other's eyes?
Alternate Author Name(s): Bai Juyi; Bo Juyi; Po Chu-i; Lo T'ien; Jyu-yi
Subject(s): China - Tang Dynasty (618-905); Death; Dead, The


YESTERDAY I heard that such-a-one was gone;
This morning they tell me that so-and-so is dead.
Of friends and acquaintances more than two-thirds
Have suffered change and passed to the Land of Ghosts.
Those that are gone I shall not see again;
They, alas, are for ever finished and done.
Those that are left, -- where are they now?
They are all scattered, -- a thousand miles away.
Those I have known and loved through all my life,
On the fingers of my hand -- how many do I count?
Only the prefects of T'ung, Kuo and Li
And Feng Province -- just those four.
Longing for each other we are all grown gray;
Through the Fleeting World rolled like a wave in the stream.
Alas that the feasts and frolics of old days
Have withered and vanished, bringing us to this!
When shall we meet and drink a cup of wine
And laughing gaze into each other's eyes?





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