Simple poems, simple pleasures

- Fuzhou is Fujian province's capital city

Arriving in Fuzhou the first time seeing a Lychee tree

Every time eat lychee exclaim delicious taste
Lychee tree color never chanced to meet
Today finally can tour city's southern garden
Wide leaves tall branches green drops falling

Chapter 4: Huangpu (the name of the river that flows through and ends in Shanghai)

Graduated from Japan school, returning to Shanghai, I got my first job in an accounting office. Then went to Central Bank. Then the war started, I went inland to work. My wife and children stayed in Shanghai in the Old Cypress compound. [The name of the place where my mom was born and lived until she was ten.] Before the war ended, I was sent by the company back to Shanghai and was captured by the Chinese intelligence agents working for the Japanese who thought I was a spy. Mr Pan and Mr Zu tried to get me out but I will still imprisoned. For more than ten years, I worked in Shanghai.

- 'lun li' Chinese people like to talk about the order of human relationships: mother-daughter, generations, etc.
- The first chapter of the earliest ancient poetry was about husband and wife--'guan ju': 'guan guan' is the sound of the male and female bird responding to each other; 'juzhou' is the name of a water bird. It's like saying love song, and it has come to mean husband and wife.
- Shuching, also known as Shuji, was a fabled person from a poor family. He was very capable and became wealthy and influential. When he was poor, he had thin clothing. When my grandpa and grandma were first married, they were poor and similarly didn't have good clothes.
- Monguang, another historical figure, and his wife were a famous loving couple. He wrote a poem about how they always wrote letters to each other, and an intimate account of her putting on makeup. "Write letters, painting makeup" became a phrase to mean loving couples.
- vegetable root fragrance is a phrase meaning simple pleasures in life
* rhymes in Chinese

Tin Wedding Anniversary Remembrance
Diqing and I were married ten years. Westerners call the 10th anniversary the Tin Anniversary. I didn't have anything else to give her so I wrote her this poem.

Human relationships begin with heavily valuing wife*
Holy teaching song bird the first chapter*
Knows some weave silk fabric beside loom
Also can from kitchen cook soup broth*
My threadbare coat as bad as Shuji's
Your writing letters as loving as Monguang*
Care for little study accompany nightly reading
Poetry literature taste lasting vegetable root fragrance*

Plum flower

chang2 jiao2 shu4 zi mei2
ling2 han2 du2 zi4 kai
yao2 zi bu2 shi4 xue3
wei4 yo3 an4 xiang lai2

wall corner many branches plum
freezing cold still continue bloom
from-far-away know it's not snow
because there's subtle fragrance coming

Call and response

Liang Di Zong (the fifth brother of a close family--my uncle married one of the daughters of this family) sent my grandma two poems for her to appreciate. The usual practice when people send you poems is to send poems back in reply. So for tonight, we are translating his poems (in Times) and then my grandma's (in Georgia). Next week, we'll do two of my grandpa's.

- I put the shared words in blue
- the 2nd and 4th lines rhyme but you'll have to imagine that it most cases
- temples white means their hair is silvering, getting old
- bland soft means casual, passive

No sorrow to alleviate always big smile
Laugh facing caltrop flowers both temples snowflake
Many sets ocean fields cycle dream trance
One time huge wave is amazing break

World view bland soft forget about self
Life status peaceful ease quiet like mountain
Let star moon continually chase each other
Only love smokey clouds come go leisurely

Letter received fleet arrival very big smile
Friendship been deep far until our hair white
Two sets ocean fields mutually suffered pain
Own heart no way stop tidal wave

Low profile hermit bears regrets westward go
Care free cloud dreams across many mountains
Our life events all like a bubble
Getting old life years most love leisure

Classic poem on peaceful golden time without war

Ri4 chu er2 zuo4
Ri4 ru4 er2 xi2
Zuo4 jing3 er4 yin3
Gen tian2 er2 shi3
Di4 li4 yu2 wo3 he2 yo3 zai

Sun up go work
Sun down go rest
Dig well to drink
Till field to eat
Imperial power has no effect on me

Updated on July 29, 2018 to note that this is titled Shoe Toss Song that goes along with a game that sounds sort of like horse shoes. It is anonymous, not credited to anyone.

Loners

• la4 = last month of the year = December
• drums = festivals and bustle of all the events of the end of the year
• this form sets up the first three lines as description/hypothesis with a conclusion in the final line of three words
• duckweed is a plant that has no root means without place, wandering: unaccustomed meeting
• guest is a description for not belonging, visiting, ill-at-ease
• from ocean and fields = breadth of human experience

Sentiments watching the sunset

1.
Remaining light sunset high contrast evening clouds
Sparse trees darkgreen lightgreen cawing nestward crows
December drums steadily beat push year end
To welcome spring
Hidden side passing days more white hair
Whole life floating boat dispatched to horizon
Experienced all manifold changes accustomed to duckweed 
Make home anywhere

2.
Against window alone watching sun set west
Evening scene bare trees pains guest heart
Law season go around cycle end begin
Ocean field past events find in dreams


Confederate rose
Near Yongan, the wartime capitol of Fujian. Japanese bombed almost every day. That morning at 9 o'clock the siren signaled coming planes. So my colleagues and I fled to the country side--guerrilla warfare style--because the Japanese bombed cities. We heard the sound of toppling and wreckage. When the sirens sounded long and slow, we knew the planes were gone. We returned to find our offices and buildings obliterated into piles of rubble. There remained one lone hibiscus standing in the yard, miraculously not destroyed.

Catastrophe over yard garden everywhere dusty mess
Broken branches fallen leaves all over ground
Confederate rose remains one sign of spring
Flowering branches weak flimsy tilt and droop
Tender blossoms delicate buds comprehend soft hearts
Pale pink subtle smiles usher in dusk