I recently came across a Chinese poem translated in English. It’s weird, but that was the first time I have read a translated poem!
Sonnet 2
Whatever can be shed we jettison
from bodies, let return again to dust
–a way to compose us for age. And thus,
like leaves and the late flowers that one
by one the autumn trees release
off of their forms into the autumn winds
to winter, we compose ourselves to lose
in nature, like cicadas abandoning
behind them in the dirt their useless shells.
So we compose ourselves for death, a song
that though shed from the music’s form still sings
and leaves a naked music when it’s gone,
transformed into a chain of hushed blue hills.
-Feng Zhi
Translated from the Chinese by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping
I find it fascinating, because the poem I found, “Sonnet 2,” by Feng Zhi, is similar to one of my poems,
“The Fading of Fall.” If you look at both poems, there is a common theme. We use the fading of fall to portray how we can make peace with death.
I think it’s interesting how different people all over the world think similarly. Think about it… we eat different food, live in different environments, speak different languages and have different cultural beliefs, yet we still see the same natural images and feel the same emotions.
Anyway, I think it’s great how more and more worldly poetry is being translated for all to enjoy! I look forward to researching more translated poetry in hopes of learning about new forms and styles.
Quote of the day: “If man is to survive, he will have learned to take a delight in the essential differences between men and between cultures. He will learn that differences in ideas and attitudes are a delight, part of life’s exciting variety, not something to fear.” -Gene Roddenberry
