孟郊诗
Poems of Meng Jiao
Index
咏怀
Song from the Heart
（一作咏情一作感寓）
(Written because I feel like singing and because I miss having a home.)
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浊水心易倾 明波兴初发 思逢海底人 乞取蚌中月 此兴若未谐 此心终不歇 |
In roiling waters, my heart overturns easily. In clear waters, my feelings first emerge. I dream of meeting men at the bottom of the sea. I want to gather oysters on the moon. These feelings are not yet harmonious. This heart will find no rest in death. |
-- 孟郊
废话
There is a poem about a shipwreck, written by a woman in the Tang. It is unlike any other poem of its time. And now, this poem of Meng Jiao is also without precedent, at least to me. The beginning and ending couplets are not surprising. But this middle couplet.... He doesn't often bother with a prefatory note. I think this poem compelled him to write one. Not that it helps us understand it any better. The title, 永怀, is more or less a genre of heart-on-the-sleeve poetry. Line 5 can also be "These feelings are not entirely a joke." He may well have intended both meanings.