MATTERS OF REGRET By Ling Lan

MATTERS OF REGRET

Ling Lan  

Too bad, Ah, Sei Shōnagon 

wrote about four seasons’ delights1, 

but she certainly didn't see 

the midnight summer rain, or the twilight 

that raises the face of every tear-filled rose; 

on a low wall, the cuckoos’ impatient calling. 

She also didn't see that person, in dim light,  

wrote out a name repeatedly on a notepaper, 

like a moth drawn to a flame.  

When I hear the cuckoos call 

and know the barn is empty, 

only a few pellets of popped wheat left in my hand. 

This season burns like fire. 

An even-tempered bookish man engrossed a dictionary. 

In the open field musk thistle and red thatch grass are blooming, 

seed staking shape.  

Note:  

1. The Pillow Book2 gave examples of season's delight: Spring daybreaks; Moonlit summer nights, or dark nights with dancing fireflies; Fall, sunset clouds towards the evening and red maples; Winter days, early dusk. 

2. An essay collection written and completed in 1002 CE by Japanese poet and essayist Sei Shōnagon.

About the poet:

Ling Lan, whose real name is Duan Quanlian, was born in 1975 in Linfen, Shanxi Province.