There once was a man from Austria
prone to coffee house nausea.
“Our cafés are held dear,
but I can’t go near…”
said that lonely, skinny man of Austria.
AUSTRIA LIMERICK
Reply
Category Archives: Lyric
BOOK: “Golden Treasury of Quatrains and Octaves” [i.e. 千家诗] Trans. by Xu Yuanchong and Xu Ming
Golden Treasury of Quatrains & Octaves by Xu. Yuanchong (translator)My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Publisher Site — China Translation Corp
This is the bilingual (Chinese-English) edition of an anthology of Tang and Song Dynasty poems commonly known in Chinese as 千家诗 (it has a much longer formal title,) which was jointly translated by Xu Yuanchong and Xu Ming (no relation.) The book is organized into four parts by the form of poem: 7-character line quatrains, 7-character line octaves, 5-character line quatrains, and 5-character line octaves. The anthology includes poems by Li Bai, Du Fu, Wang Wei, Meng Haoran, Jia Dao, Ouyang Xiu, Yang Wanli, Su Shi, and many other important Tang and Song poets — from Emperors to Hermits. That said, while the aforementioned Chinese title suggests there are works of a thousand poets involved, that’s an exaggeration. (And that’s probably all the better. While this was the golden age of Chinese poetry, going that wide into surviving poetry might involve hitting the dregs.)
Each entry has a title, byline, the poem in Simplified Chinese script and pinyin (Romanized phonetic script,) an English language translation, notes in Chinese, and a line or two of commentary in English. All but the seven-character line octaves take up just one page per poem. (Seven-character line octaves take two pages per poem.)
This is a great anthology. There’s an introduction to give insight into what approach the translators took. They stuck to rhyming verse to emulate the originals in form, but more can be learned from the introduction.
I’d highly recommend this anthology for poetry readers.
View all my reviews
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
Different Wavelengths [Lyric Poem]
The parrot stands, as if jilted.
The chipmunk sniffs, as if intrigued.
Parrot behaves ever so stilted.
Chipmunk is just hungry and fatigued.
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
GEORGIA LIMERICK
There was a famed Georgian vintner
who thought about wines all winter –
as he thought, he drank,
and -- let us be frank –
he became less vintner than drinker.
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
GERMANY LIMERICK
There was a colorblind decorator in Germany
who couldn’t tell crimson from ruby from burgundy.
Where precision rules
this was less than cool.
Customers saw red as far as the eye can see.
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
KAZAKHSTAN LIMERICK
There was an Eagle Hunter of Kazakhstan,
which sounds like Eagle was hunted by man,
but the Eagle goes hunting,
the man sits doing nothing –
It’s a sweet gig for Eagle Hunters in Kazakhstan.
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
“Thou Strainest Through the Mountain Fern” (A Fragment) by William Wordsworth [w/ Audio]
Thou strainest through the mountain fern,
A most exiguously thin
Burn.
For all thy foam, for all thy din,
Thee shall the pallid lake inurn,
With well-a-day for Mr. Swin-
Burne!
Take then this quarto in thy fin
And, O thou stoker huge and stern,
The whole affair, outside and in,
Burn!
But save the true poetic kin,
The works of Mr. Robert Burn'
And William Wordsworth upon Tin-
Tern!
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
“Song” by James Joyce [w/ Audio]
My love is in a light attire
Among the apple trees,
Where the gay winds do most desire
To run in companies.
There, where the gay winds stay to woo
The young leaves as they pass,
My love goes slowly, bending to
Her shadow on the grass.
And where the sky’s a pale blue cup
Over the laughing land,
My love goes lightly, holding up
Her dress with dainty hand.
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
“Changed” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow [w/ Audio]
From the outskirts of the town
Where of old the mile-stone stood,
Now a stranger, looking down
I behold the shadowy crown
Of the dark and haunted wood.
Is it changed, or am I changed?
Ah! the oaks are fresh and green,
But the friends with whom I ranged
Through their thickets are estranged
By the years that intervene.
Bright as ever flows the sea,
Bright as ever shines the sun,
But alas! they seem to me
Not the sun that used to be,
Not the tides that used to run.
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
“To a Taoist Hermit on Mt. Quanjiao” [寄全椒山中道士] by Wei Yingwu [韦应物]
Today, my office is chilly.
At once, I miss my mountain chum,
Who bound firewood in the valley,
Bringing it back to boil white stones.
I wish I could ladle some wine
To comfort on this stormy night.
But fallen leaves fill mountain hollows,
How could I find a track to follow?
This is poem #29 from the 300 Tang Poems [唐诗三百首], entitled 寄全椒山中道士. The original poem in Simplified Chinese is:
今朝郡斋冷， 忽念山中客；
涧底束荆薪， 归来煮白石。
欲持一瓢酒， 远慰风雨夕。
落叶满空山， 何处寻行迹？
