Writing Alone while Drunk

Writing Alone while Drunk
By Laijon Liu (2008.04.15)

The noise of day fades and lonely night arrives,
I drink and write alone with fatigue and distress.
The blank sheet is pale and my ball pen is mute,
And three of us sit there and have nothing to say.
The vast empty pallid page gives me no fairytale,
And my ball headed pen is dull without a thought.
But they are my only hope after I am fully drunk,
For the time of my unspeakable pain I must write.
So I beg my poor soul and the blank page answers,
I cry with my penniless pen and he drops his tears.
While I’m drunk that we are still very true friends,
When grief gushes out my mind we all fall to sleep.
I wish our unhindered affections never be blocked,
And one day we can tell as one -forever published:-)

Note:
Does this poem sound familiar?
Li Po would laugh and nod his poetic drunken head:-)
But I know he is not going to suit me in poetry supreme court,
Coz I could not get in there yet:-)
“Only greatest poets allowed!”

But I am truly inspired by Mr. Li Po’s poem:
“Drinking Alone By Moonlight” (Read Following)
And try to copy his style very very closely:-)

This poem is for Mr. Li Po
And my paper and pen,
And surely his wine and my beer,
How I spend my every night alone with them!

“Toast and write, and toast to write!”

酒后成章

日寂孤夜落,
独醉书忧乏.
雪纸无落笔,
齐凑也三人.
张白无典故,
钝笔哑且呆.
借伴纸与笔,
听吾诉忠肠.
哀灵倾纸诉,
贱墨泪成行.
醉时同怜慰,
愁消倒昏床.
暂伴无志旅,
同声共短长.

因醉思李白,月下獨酌后,是而酒后成章.
如我小学初中老师看了这篇,会很骄傲的;
过去全校点名,现在全国丢丑或增光:-)


Copyright© Laijon Liu 2008


Drinking Alone by Moonlight
Li Po / Li Bai
Translated by Laijon Liu

A pot of wine in the flower bush,
I drink alone without a friend.
Raise my cup to invite the bright moon,
And greet to my shadow for we’re three friends.
But the moon does not know about drinking,
And my shadow remains still, unmoved.
The moon and my shadow ’re my temporal companions,
Still we must enjoy each other for this springtime.
So I sing, then the moon starts to wander,
I dance, and my shadow disorderly scatters.
We enjoy each other while we are awake,
And depart to each own way after drunk.
Let our unbound affection forever abide,
And one day we may truly meet in the far misty heavens.


Arthur Waley’s Translation
花間一壺酒。 A cup of wine, under the flowering trees;
獨酌無相親。 I drink alone, for no friend is near.
舉杯邀明月。 Raising my cup I beckon the bright moon,
對影成三人。 For her, with my shadow, will make three men.
月既不解飲。 The moon, alas, is no drinker of wine;
影徒隨我身。 Listless, my shadow creeps about at my side.
暫伴月將影。 Yet with the moon as friend and the shadow as slave
行樂須及春。 I must make merry before the Spring is spent.
我歌月徘徊。 To the songs I sing the moon flickers her beams;
我舞影零亂。 In the dance I weave my shadow tangles and breaks.
醒時同交歡。 While we were sober, three shared the fun;
醉後各分散。 Now we are drunk, each goes his way.
永結無情遊。 May we long share our odd, inanimate feast,
相期邈雲漢。 And meet at last on the Cloudy River of the sky.