Analysis on the chinese poem - Form, Shadow, Spirit.?

[boynton35]

It's a old spiritual chinese poem by T'ao Ch'en.


Form addresses Shadow:

Heaven and earth last. They'll never end.
Mountains and rivers know no seasons,

and there's a timeless law plants and trees
follow: frost then dew, vigor then ruin.

They call us earth's most divine and wise
things, but we alone are never as we are

again. One moment we appear in this world,
and the nest, we vanish, never to return.

And who notices one person less? Family?
Friends? They only remember some

everyday little thing you've left behind
pushes grief up to their eyes in tears.

I'm no immortal. I can't just soar away
beyond change. There's no doubt about it,

death's death. Once you see that, you'll
see that turning down drinks is for fools.


Shadow replies:

Who can speak of immortality when simply
staying alive makes such sad fools of us?

We long for those peaks of the immortals,
but they're far-off, and roads trail away

early. Coming and going together, we've
always shared the same joys and sorrows.

Resting in shade, we may seem unrelated,
but living out in the sun, we never part.

This togetherness isn't forever, though.
Soon, we'll smother in darkness. The body

can't last, and all memory of us also ends.
It sears the five feelings. But in our

good works, we bequeath our love through
generations. How can you spare any effort?

Though it may be true wine dispels sorrow,
How can such trifles ever compare to this?


Spirit answers:

The Great Potter (god) never hands out favors.
These ten thousand things thrive each

of themselves alone. If humans rank with
heaven and earth, isn't it because of me?

And though we're different sorts of things
entirely, we've been inseparable since

birth, together through better and worse,
and I've always told you what I thought.

The Three Emperors were the wisest of men,
but where are they now? And loving his

eight-hundred-year life, old P'eng-tsu
wanted to stay on here, but he too set out.

Young and old die the same death. When it
comes, the difference between sage and fool

vanishes. Drinking every day may help you
forget, but won't it bring an early grave?

And though good works may bring lasting
joy, who will sing your praise? Listen--

It's never-ending analysis that wounds us.
Why not circle away in the seasons, adrift

on the Great Transformation, riding its vast
swells without fear or delight? Once your

time comes to an end, you end: not another
moment lost to all those lonely worries.



first of all, what do you think it's about?
Did you find some kenning, alliteration, assonance, and four strong beats? How did the poet use it?

[rushford79]

This is a translation of a poem that was originally written in Chinese, so if there's any alliteration, etc., then it's the translator who's using it, not the poet.