As always, I approach these adaptations slowly. This may need a few tweaks, but it’s close.
Greeting the Moon (after Li Po)
Wine conceals the night’s approach,
while blossoms blanket my clothing.
Drunk, I stumble to the stream and greet the moon,
thinking of birds, so distant, and people, so few.
The transliteration on Chinese-Poems.com reads:
Amusing Myself
Face wine not aware get dark
Fall flower fill my clothes
Drunk stand step stream moon
Bird far person also few
O at the Edges 
Very evocative transliteration. Thank-you for sharing your work!
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Thank you.
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beautiful, I love these, thank you!
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Thanks, Phil. I’ll try to keep going.
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Beautiful
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Thanks, Steve!
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Done with a painter’s brush, these words, so precisely drawn, but of which mood, I wonder: solitude or loneliness? Such a fine line that separates them in this word-picture.
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Perhaps a bit of both?
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So instructive to see your English source and the miracle you make of it. Wondrous!
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Thanks, as always, Ron. It’s amazing how much time these little poems consume. But what better way to spend it?
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Nice one! Also, the photo is stunning.
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Thank you. The photos are from morguefile.com.
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Wonderful how off-your-face inebriation can lead to stupendously beautiful words 🙂
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Having tried that method in my youth, I can’t recommend it. But Li Po, well, it worked for him. 🙂
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Great job! 🙂
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Thank you.
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Sounds lovely.
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Thanks!
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transliteration has some grammatical errors, sounds like a record gone haywire…
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That probably has much to do with the difficulties of transmuting Chinese characters into English – the lack of articles, verb tense, etc. Much is uncertain, which lends to the charm, I think.
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I like to see the difference between the English version and the Chinese transliteration. Thanks for stopping by my blog, I appreciate it.
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It’s also interesting to view multiple translations. And thank you for returning the favor!
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Li Po loved to drink with the moon. Your rendition is so evocative of nature, and peace, and being OK with how things are when one is wrapped up in the close and holy, yet utterly alone. Thank you for this beautiful start to the day.
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I’m so pleased that this helped to start your day off!
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From the first line, I love…it could be the beginning of a story…makes me wonder what will occur next.
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The story never ends. Or is forever ending.
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That is really lovely!
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This is beautiful. I laughed out loud in wonder.
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I’m so pleased that the poem resonated with you!
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I’ve long loved seeing multiple translations and interpretations side by side. Each lends another layer of texture to the increasingly dimensional and powerful whole.
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Yes, a little texture here, a moody note there – all part of a whole, yet different.
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Robert, I am privileged to see you seem to be a regular visitor to my blArt. Thanks for your interest. I don’t look at many blogs but i find yours rewarding. Also, how do you get so many to comment. My blArt is well frequented but never commented on. Namaste
Pete
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We have some mutual interests! I don’t have any advice on getting people to comment, other than I visit other blogs and occasionally comment on them.
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tanks a lot Robert. I bin so bizzy attending to my blog and doing some books for a bookart fair that i omit seeing others’ blogs. Now the fair has arrived and will be over by Monday I shall trawl the sites i find interesting, like yourn. Namaste
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what a big difference in these two translations. it is easier to understand the meaning of yours than the literal Chinese
a delicate and most charming lyric
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Thanks, Eddie. These have been wonderful exercises (and fun, too).
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what a lovely idea! Transliteration – I had no idea it was so creative. Thank you 🙂
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These adaptations have been excellent exercises in diction and rhythm, not to mention a type of poetry that’s a bit out of my norm. You should try it!
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I absolutely will – thank you!
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UM the Chinese translation is not half as good as your “After” interpretation. Why? Because those clods at the Chinese Transliteration crew just stuck the translated words on a page, and WOW forgot they were supposed to make something POETIC out of Li Bei Dao for us clods who haven’t figured out Chinese yet.
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Lovely interpretation, and thanks for citing your source here and elsewhere.
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Thanks very much. I only wish that I could read the original!
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Robert, This is really excellent! It’s clearly well-crafted and as you said, time well spent. Lovely, memorable, and unique.
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You’re very generous. Thank you.
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love your work Robert
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Thank you for making my day!
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well you’re welcome!!
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