Life’s Vicissitudes: Written on a Wall on the Road to Mount Bo

COOL POEMS: Introduction > THE POEMS

Topic: Life’s Vicissitudes

Author: Xin Qiji (1140-1207)

Written on a Wall on the Road to Mount Bo

Misty rushes, dewy hills, a willow beside the wasteland pond.
Rinsed in rain; baked in sun,
Rinsed in rain; baked in sun,
However many shades of green, the April wind is one!“teehoo, twawkoo,”* even the songbirds urge me home.
A million laments; a thousand loves,
A million laments; a thousand loves,
Each forever beyond repair; each which sings its song!

Comments: In this poem the poet reflects upon the role of chance and fate in shaping the vicissitudes of our lives. The first stanza is a “scene” (jing) which already encapsulates what it is the poet wishes to express (qing). Depending upon the way water settles, the herbage in a wasteland scene will be yellow or green, even though the wind which brings the rain is the same. Likewise life’s ups and downs depend not only on our ability but to some degree on the way the dice fall, and so life doles out “a million laments” but also “a thousand loves.” Both the bitter and the sweet have value, equally each makes us what we are. Consequently though the loves and sorrows of our lives may lie beyond repair, still each forever will sing its song.
*The characters describing the twittering of birds serve as puns meaning something like: “Grab a drink,” “kick off your pants”

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