Classic and Contemporary Poetry
ON THE DEATH OF HIS FATHER, by WEI WEN-TI First Line: I look up and see / his curtains and bed Last Line: Then why was he / not spared? Subject(s): China - Middle Ages (600 B.c.- 618 A.d.); Death; Fathers; Dead, The | ||||||||
I LOOK up and see / his curtains and bed: I look down and examine / his table and mat. The things are there / just as before. But the man they belonged to / is not there. His spirit suddenly / has taken flight And left me behind / far away. To whom shall I look, / on whom rely? My tears flow / in an endless stream. "Yu, yu" / cry the wandering deer As they carry fodder / to their young in the wood. Flap, flap / fly the birds As they carry their little ones / back to the nest. I alone / am desolate Dreading the days / of our long parting: My grieving heart's / settled pain No one else / can understand. There is a saying / among people "Sorrow makes us / grow old." Alas, alas / for my white hairs! All too early / they have come! Long wailing, / long sighing My thoughts are fixed on my sage parent. They say the good / live long: Then why was he / not spared? | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A FRIEND KILLED IN THE WAR by ANTHONY HECHT FOR JAMES MERRILL: AN ADIEU by ANTHONY HECHT TARANTULA: OR THE DANCE OF DEATH by ANTHONY HECHT CHAMPS D?ÇÖHONNEUR by ERNEST HEMINGWAY NOTE TO REALITY by TONY HOAGLAND THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST WU (1) by WEI WEN-TI |
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