Classic and Contemporary Poetry
LI FU-JEN, by WU-TI (157 B.C.- 87 B.C.) First Line: The sound of her silk skirt has stopped Last Line: How slow she comes! Subject(s): China - Early Period (to 200 B.c.); China - Middle Ages (600 B.c.- 618 A.d.); Love - Loss Of; Winter | ||||||||
THE sound of her silk skirt has stopped. On the marble pavement dust grows. Her empty room is cold and still. Fallen leaves are piled against the doors. Longing for that lovely lady How can I bring my aching heart to rest? The above poem was written by Wu-ti when his mistress, Li Fu-jen, died. Unable to bear his grief, he sent for wizards from all parts of China, hoping that they would be able to put him into communication with her spirit. At last one of them managed to project her shape on to a curtain. The emperor cried: Is it or isn't it? I stand and look. The swish, swish of a silk skirt. How slow she comes! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...LOOKING EAST IN THE WINTER by JOHN HOLLANDER WINTER DISTANCES by FANNY HOWE WINTER FORECAST by JOSEPHINE JACOBSEN AT WINTER'S EDGE by JUDY JORDAN CHAMBER MUSIC: 34 by JAMES JOYCE THE AUTUMN WIND by WU-TI (157 B.C.- 87 B.C.) |
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