Friday, October 19, 2012

Mid Autumn Festival, Chengdu


Verse: Mid Autumn Festival at Chéngdū, 2012
He comes, down from the mist of Sìchuān hills,
to the city of rivers, flowers and brocade.
Mid Autumn Festival has beckoned.
Others have come too,
likely those not called to family and countryside.
Here, anonymous among the millions,
seduced by her metroplex charm,
he surrenders to a city’s version of repose.
Café lounging, people watching, observant of any eye;
noodles remembered from an earlier sojourn;
friends made then and now seen again;
comfort sought in the mystery of Erhuánlù.
Tiānfǔ masses whisper at site of the wàiguórén,
with stately Maó watching over
patriots and travelers in festive spirit.
A walk among the bows, low-hanging on the paths,
endless elders clinging lovingly to babes in arms:
each brings peaceful bliss to this traveler’s early morn.
Dù Fǔ’s forests of bamboo and fallen leaves,
ponds and streams of still waters and fowl.
Ah! Could this be the Walden of Shǔ?
Refuge found in China’s memorial to her favored poet!
There, in the poignant ode to Pony Boy,
I find revealed this laureate’s pain of separation,
a lament for family far away, the depth of fatherly love.
His verse grounds the one who reflects
and opens the heart of one who listens.
-rf
October 8, revised October 20
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