O at the Edges

Musings on poetry, language, perception, numbers, food, and anything else that slips through the cracks.

Spring Dawn (after Meng Haoran)

Posted on September 11, 2017 by robert okaji

This morning I slept through dawn

and the screeching birds, long

after last night’s wild wind and rain.

But who can count the fallen flowers?

The transliteration on Chinese-poems.com reads:

Spring sleep not wake dawn
Everywhere hear cry bird
Night come wind rain sound
Flower fall know how many

This adaptation first appeared on the blog in November 2014.

12 thoughts on “Spring Dawn (after Meng Haoran)”

Jazz Jaeschke on September 10, 2017 at 7:58 pm said:

Definitely yours is more relatable!

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- robert okaji on September 11, 2017 at 10:47 am said:
  
  Thanks, Jazz!
  
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gardenlovepoet on September 10, 2017 at 9:35 pm said:

“When your eyes stare into mine, the world does not need language; when your lips kiss mine, the world does not need time. You are surrounding my heart, bitterness turns sweet.
All these yesterdays were there to seize the wish today. Countless times of getting lost just want to freeze the moment. Because of you, today exists.
When your hands linger around me, there is one fewer lonesomeness in this world; when you say your life was meant to love me everyday bit by bit, there is one more smiling face in this world. You are surrounding my heart, bitterness turns sweet.” -Wanting Qu “Today”

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- robert okaji on September 11, 2017 at 10:48 am said:
  
  Thank you for sharing this.
  
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  - gardenlovepoet on September 11, 2017 at 12:15 pm said:
    
    You’re welcome
    
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derrickjknight on September 11, 2017 at 4:33 am said:

Nicely done

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- robert okaji on September 11, 2017 at 10:49 am said:
  
  These poems have been translated/adapted a zillion times, but still I can’t resist!
  
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memadtwo on September 11, 2017 at 8:28 am said:

The last line is so full of longing…(K)

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- robert okaji on September 11, 2017 at 10:50 am said:
  
  There’s something about fallen flowers that sets the mood.
  
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rivrvlogr on September 11, 2017 at 12:55 pm said:

So subtle, the “long” at the end of the second line.

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- robert okaji on September 11, 2017 at 1:20 pm said:
  
  Glad you like that, Ken. It seems to stretch time a bit.
  
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