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Facing my Wine, Falling Blossoms have Filled the Folds of my Clothes
By admin | August 29, 2008
Imagine a ragged drunk who smiles as he sees a gleaming moon float gently
across a soft gilded stream.
In “Amusing Myself”, another famous poem, an inebriated glassy eyed Li Bai writes,
Facing my wine, I did not see the dusk,
But falling blossoms have filled the folds of my clothes,
Drunk I rise, and approach the moon in a river,
But birds are far away … and people are few.
As Flowers Fall Like Rain
As our notorious poet continues to sip wine from what appears to be a bottomless cup ….
beautiful blossoms flow and the impending dusk seems far, far away.
But one must ask, just what continues to stimulate the poets’ brilliant mind.
In ” Amusing Myself”, Li Bai creates lasting images that illuminate yet another lonely night.
At the same time, he enters another dark foreboding realm.
Facing my Wine I did Not see the Dusk
Perhaps a tragic poem, the real value of this work may lie as we enter the dark recesses of a rare, undiscovered world.
And within this world, the dark realities of the poets’ mind may only be dissolved as an abundance of wine begins to flow, and flowers fall like rain.
But then, we must surely ask ourselves ….. should we laugh or cry?
After all, he is China’s greatest poet, …. nothing but a notorious inebriated sot.
Such is the life of Li Bai ….. and all that he has now come to represent.
He is an adventurous poet, mystic and rabble-rouser par excellence.
Gerald Marchewka is an American freelance writer currently living in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Gerald Marchewka may be reached at geraldmarchewka@yahoo.com
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