Amongst the flowers I
am alone with my pot of wine
drinking by myself; then lifting
my cup I asked the moon
to drink with me, its reflection
and mine in the wine cup, just
the three of us; then I sigh
for the moon cannot drink,
and my shadow goes emptily along
with me never saying a word;
with no other friends here, I can
but use these two for company;
in the time of happiness, I
too must be happy with all
around me; I sit and sing
and it is as if the moon
accompanies me; then if I
dance, it is my shadow that
dances along with me; while
still not drunk, I am glad
to make the moon and my shadow
into friends, but then when
I have drunk too much, we
all part; yet these are
friends I can always count on
these who have no emotion
whatsoever; I hope that one day
we three will meet again,
deep in the Milky Way.
Version 2
Beneath the blossoms with a pot of wine,
No friends at hand, so I poured alone;
I raised my cup to invite the moon,
Turned to my shadow, and we became three.
Now the moon had never learned about drinking,
And my shadow had merely followed my form,
But I quickly made friends with the moon and my shadow;
To find pleasure in life, make the most of the spring.
Whenever I sang, the moon swayed with me;
Whenever I danced, my shadow went wild.
Drinking, we shared our enjoyment together;
Drunk, then each went off on his own.
But forever agreed on dispassionate revels,
We promised to meet in the far Milky Way.
Notes
Li Po was famous for his romantic poems of escape from reality through either his imagination or drinking wine.
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It is thought that Li Po was supposed to have drowned while attempting to embrace the moon's reflection in the water.
However I have found another translation - translator unknown but printed in; " The 100 Best Poems of all Time" edited by Leslie Pockell. (2001) -
This poem isn't about a loved one, or drinking at all
the author, Li Bai, was a former taoist adept and this poem was to remember the people that even if we are, humans, physically apart, we are a part of something bigger, the Cosmos, the Dao. In the Dao, we are as one with everything : moon and/or shadow. And beside, he is using lots ot Taoist pictures in this poem. The Moon and the Shadow are the symbol of the Yin and the Yang or, if we add the subject, a triad : Heaven, People and Earth. -
I found this interesting. It made me think of those moments where you are suddenly hit with the idea that you are alone and then you refuse to be alone and so you make the moon and your shadow your friends. Sobriety like the sun can take both away but when night falls and intoxication calls you will meet again. And being alone becomes relative....
This was a great read. It kept my attention and drew me in. Thank you for sharing your words.
~JayLynn
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I think this is
a very skinny
short story -
This really brings out quite an effect
that of a melancholy moment, setting is
quite hauntingly beautiful, and states she is alone,
but the qualities and characteristics of the other two
she mentions here she brings out and are a part of her,
and no matter what state she may be, they abide with her.
Just my thoughts from reading this!
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Wow.. this is really great. Really amusing. Lol.. I really enjoyed reading it.. keep up the awesome work!
Shadow -
This is rather good. The title suggests some pathetic 'oh my heart is broken so I shall drown it in alcohol and sit under the moon wishing for better things,' type poem , and in a way it was, but it was so well written and fun to read that didn't matter.
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