Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Our Fourth and Fifth Selected Poems. A lovely, scholarly translation, and a ribald, modern transposition.





On Visiting Dai Tianshan, the Taoist Priest, But Not Finding Him
by Li Bai (李白)

amid the water sounds, a dog’s bark
peach blossoms fall, a thick rain
sometimes I see deer deep among the trees
by the stream I do not hear the noonday bell
wild bamboo divides the blue mist
a flying waterfall hangs from a green crag
he’s left and no one knows where he’s gone
disappointed I lean against a forked pine

--English version by Wulf Losee


On Visiting Dai Tianshan, the Taoist Priest, But Not Finding Him
by Li Bai (李白)

fucking dog
always barking
a leaky valve
the peaches have set
rain, thick and heavy
a neighbor’s goat
is loose
the tape of
the chapel bells
has broken
the scotch broom
divides the fog
a forked branch stuck
in the storm drain
WTF
he doesn’t answer
his cellphone
bummed
I lean against
the nearest
light pole

--English version by Brian Howlett

 


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