DDCPoetry

Original poem reprinted online here:   "Alone Looking at the Mountain" by Li Po Originally read: September 11, 2013 More information about the Poet:   Li Po This poem is based on perspective. And, yes, even though this poem is purely image based note the location of each line. "All the birds have flown up and gone."  The location: the sky.  But the key here is flying up, a direction where the birds are gone. "A lonely cloud floats leisurely by"  The key is the adjective and the adverb and how they juxtapose each other.  The lonely cloud has sentimental weight behind it but what does the cloud do?  Floats on leisurely.  It's not like that the emotional tie holds it back from moving. "We never tire of looking at each other."  Here the speaker plays with the sense of togetherness and friendship. And then this, "Only he mountain and I" I guess the big note is the placement -- land, but also note the comparison. Even though the mountain ...

Original poem reprinted online here:  "Amidst The Flowers A Jug of Wine" by Li Po Originally read: March 17, 2013 More information about the Poet:  Li Po Translations are hard to analyze.  Is the translator close to original text or not?  What is missed due to the transfer of language.  Regardless of bias or misinterpretation, I chose this poem because of how the images work -- they have qualities of persona, symbolism, and straight up Imagism, but they are explored and internalized to a certain degree where, I feel, the speaker, the moon, and the shadow have equal screen time, but different purposes. Yes, in most Li Po poems there's something about being drunk.  And in some ways, the introduction of wine -- something that distorts reality when drunk to much, is needed to loosen the readers own perceptions, creating the "suspension of belief" when the speaker personifies the moon and his shadow. And this is where the merge between image/symbolism come in, b...