Mike James: Tu Fu, In Exile, In Middle Age
calm lake a mirror to the mountains
at the center a fisherman’s boat rests
tu fu, so long away from the capital,
envies the fisherman and his net
wife crying in another room
not a bowl of rice in the house
not one persimmon for the children
of course, no wine for late hours alone
he wishes for a gift or a letter
drinks water from his gourd cup
the mountains are large, but no closer
that fisherman always works alone
.
Authors note: Tang Dynasty poet Tu Fu (712 – 770) worked as a government official for various Chinese emperors. On several occasions he fell out of favor and was sent into exile where he lived in great poverty and loneliness. During one of those exiles, his son died from sickness brought on by malnutrition. I actually wrote the poem shortly after the election thinking about how the ancient Chinese poets responded with calm to the many invasions, plagues, droughts and wars.
Copyright 2017 Mike James
.
Tu Fu (712 – 770)
Thank you, Mike, for this poem.
LikeLiked by 1 person