cliches are great when your soul is singing
I'm in a totally unreliable lalala mood, and since I'm a girl I'm going to bombard you with love poetry from books lying closest to my desk. Consider yourself warned. Brains have been known to spontaneously combust with all this cloying sweetness.
From the book Persian Love Poetry edited by Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis and Sheila R. Canby (British Museum Press)
Love came and ransacked the house
And raised the sword of recklessness
It gave them sorrow and stole their hearts
Giving their hearts to each other
They lost their tranquility.
They fell prey to gossip
Their cover was torn in every way
Their secret heard in every alleyway.
- from "Laili and Majnun" by Nizami Ganjavi (born 1140 - 1146)
Although my heart is full of sorrow of separation,
Joy mixed with your sorrow increases my unhappiness.
Every night I think of you and say, Oh Lord:
Here is separation and there is connection.
- Rudaki (died 940 - 941)
I had vowed never to give my heart to anyone again.
But what should I do? Once more I am caught in a passion.
My sign at down will stop the morning breeze
When one night I let out a sigh at the top of your lane.
- Khaju Kirmani (died 1361)
Like a flower I shall embrace your love
And then switch off the light of reason.
I shall place my head between your breasts
I drink love from the scent of your body.
- Homa Katouzian (born 1942)
From Chinese Poetry: An Anthology of Major Modes and Genres, edited and translated by Wai-Lim Yip (Duke University Press)
No. 4
Long night: unable to sleep
The moon, how breakingly bright.
Calling, someone seems calling.
Into the empty air, I answer: "Yes?"
- a "Tzu-Yeh" song
Autumn Night: A Letter Sent to Ch'iu
Thinking of you, in autumn night,
Strolling, chanting the cool air.
Empty mountain: pine cones fall.
Secluded man: staying up, still?
-Wei Ying-Wu (773-828)
Spring Day: Thinking of Li Po
Li Po's poetry: no match anywhere.
Soaring, his imagination always above others.
Clear, fresh like Yu Hsin.
Vigorous, free-flowing like Pao Chao.
North of River Wei: trees of spring.
East of the Yangtze: clouds of sundown.
When can we talk about literature again
Over a bottle of wine?
- Tu Fu (712-770)
Hell, not enough people read this book for the smex! Come on, let's get Biblical!
My lover is mine, and I am his.
He feeds his flock among the lilies
until the morning breezes blow
and the darkness disappears.
Return, my darling, like a gazelle,
like a stag on the mountains of Bether.
Asleep on my bed, night after night,
I dream of the one I love;
I was looking for him, but I couldn't find him.
I went wandering through the city,
through its streets and alleys.
I looked for the one I love.
I looked, but couldn't find him.
The watchmen patrolling the city saw me.
I asked them, "Have you found my lover?"
As soon as I left them, I found him.
I held him and wouldn't let him go
until I took him to my mother's house
to the room where I was born.
Promise me, women of Jerusalem;
swear by the swift deer and the gazelles
that you will not interrupt our love.
- Song of Songs, 2:16 to 3:5 (Good News Bible version)
Did I cite that correctly? Damn, I haven't needed to do that in years.
May you have a lalalalala week too. Consider this a break from all the excitement the latest Bleach chapters have brought...
From the book Persian Love Poetry edited by Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis and Sheila R. Canby (British Museum Press)
Love came and ransacked the house
And raised the sword of recklessness
It gave them sorrow and stole their hearts
Giving their hearts to each other
They lost their tranquility.
They fell prey to gossip
Their cover was torn in every way
Their secret heard in every alleyway.
- from "Laili and Majnun" by Nizami Ganjavi (born 1140 - 1146)
Although my heart is full of sorrow of separation,
Joy mixed with your sorrow increases my unhappiness.
Every night I think of you and say, Oh Lord:
Here is separation and there is connection.
- Rudaki (died 940 - 941)
I had vowed never to give my heart to anyone again.
But what should I do? Once more I am caught in a passion.
My sign at down will stop the morning breeze
When one night I let out a sigh at the top of your lane.
- Khaju Kirmani (died 1361)
Like a flower I shall embrace your love
And then switch off the light of reason.
I shall place my head between your breasts
I drink love from the scent of your body.
- Homa Katouzian (born 1942)
From Chinese Poetry: An Anthology of Major Modes and Genres, edited and translated by Wai-Lim Yip (Duke University Press)
No. 4
Long night: unable to sleep
The moon, how breakingly bright.
Calling, someone seems calling.
Into the empty air, I answer: "Yes?"
- a "Tzu-Yeh" song
Autumn Night: A Letter Sent to Ch'iu
Thinking of you, in autumn night,
Strolling, chanting the cool air.
Empty mountain: pine cones fall.
Secluded man: staying up, still?
-Wei Ying-Wu (773-828)
Spring Day: Thinking of Li Po
Li Po's poetry: no match anywhere.
Soaring, his imagination always above others.
Clear, fresh like Yu Hsin.
Vigorous, free-flowing like Pao Chao.
North of River Wei: trees of spring.
East of the Yangtze: clouds of sundown.
When can we talk about literature again
Over a bottle of wine?
- Tu Fu (712-770)
Hell, not enough people read this book for the smex! Come on, let's get Biblical!
My lover is mine, and I am his.
He feeds his flock among the lilies
until the morning breezes blow
and the darkness disappears.
Return, my darling, like a gazelle,
like a stag on the mountains of Bether.
Asleep on my bed, night after night,
I dream of the one I love;
I was looking for him, but I couldn't find him.
I went wandering through the city,
through its streets and alleys.
I looked for the one I love.
I looked, but couldn't find him.
The watchmen patrolling the city saw me.
I asked them, "Have you found my lover?"
As soon as I left them, I found him.
I held him and wouldn't let him go
until I took him to my mother's house
to the room where I was born.
Promise me, women of Jerusalem;
swear by the swift deer and the gazelles
that you will not interrupt our love.
- Song of Songs, 2:16 to 3:5 (Good News Bible version)
Did I cite that correctly? Damn, I haven't needed to do that in years.
May you have a lalalalala week too. Consider this a break from all the excitement the latest Bleach chapters have brought...