Poetry Excerpts

Poem 10

何  應  窮  失  小  故  曉  木
事  知  途  路  島  鄉  風  屋
囚  國  騷  英  微  遠  明  閒
困  弱  士  雄  聞  憶  月  來
此  人  且  空  寒  雲  共  把
處  心  登  說  雁  山  徘  窗
來  死  台  劍  哀  斷  徊  開
?   ,  。  ,  。  ,  。  ,

Bored in the wood house I held open a window,
Dawn breezes, the day-bright moon, linger together.
In distant memory, an old village, hills obscured by clouds,
On this small island, tiny cries of wild geese sorrow.

The mighty hero who’s lost his way speaks emptily of the sword,
A troubled scholar on a poor road writes only high poems.
You should know when a country is weak,
the people’s spirit dies.
How else have we come to be trapped here as prisoners?

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Poem 20

愁  悲  蟲  雲  形  夜   
人  苦  聲  霧  影  靜   
獨  相  唧  潺  傷  微   
坐  連  唧  潺  情  聞   
倚  天  月  也  見  風
窗  相  微  暗  景  嘯
邊  遣  明  天  詠  聲
。   ,  。  ,  。  ,

Deep Night

In the still of night, small sounds are a howling wind.
Shadows, an ache of old wounds, so I recite verse:

Fog and mist drift, a gloomy sky,
Insects rub crick-crack beneath the moon’s faint light.
My sad and bitter face matches these heavens.
A worried man sits alone, leans at the window’s sill.




“Toishan” (formerly known as Yee)

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Poem 29

菲  吾  愁  悶  窗  夜
儀  儕  把  來  前  涼   
無  也  時  起  月  僵   
備  應  計  立  姊  臥   
亦  同  已  寒  透  鐵    
羞  敬  秋  窗  照  床
容  賞  中  下  儂  中
。   ,  。  ,  。  ,

Mid-Autumn Festival

Cool nights lying on the steel bunk.
Through a window, the moon goddess shines down on me.
Bored, I rise and stand beneath cold glass.
Anxious to stay on schedule, already mid-autumn.
I too should venerate her beauty.
Fragrant rites I’ve not readied, I’m so full of shame.

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Poem 38

優  不  白  素  卿  客  木  風
悠  若  種  娥  無  有  屋  清
柴  村  偏  未  旅  鄉  孤  月
米  民  囚  曉  意  思  衾  朗
樂  耕  東  人  戀  眼  倍  可
簞  與  椏  間  窗  伴  寂  憐
瓢  讀  僑  苦  蕉  柳  寥  宵
。  ;   。 ;   。 ;   。 ;

Clear breezes, a brilliant moon, make for a pitiful night,
In the wood house, a single quilt shrouds an emptiness.
A homesick traveler thinks of his companion willow,
A wife, with no desire to leave, loved the banana palm
outside the window.

Su’e never dawned in the space of human suffering.
Whites make prisoners out of Dongya visitors,
Unlike villagers who plow and study,
Excellent long firewood, and the rice happy
in basket and gourd.

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Poem 59

得  被  猛  蛟
勢  困  虎  龍
復  安  遭  失
仇  敢  囚  水
定  與  小  螻
有  爭  兒  蟻
期  雄  戲  欺
。  ,  。  ,

Out of the water, the legendary sea dragon is bullied by ants,
The fierce tiger, unluckily caged, mocked by children.
Trapped and docile, do I dare strive to be the hero?
When I have power, my moment of revenge
will surely arrive!

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Poem 62

空  今  愁  留  鴻  鳥  崎  滄   
勞  將  恨  難  使  疏  嶇  海   
精  歸  積  經  莫  寒  困  圜   
衛  國  滿  半  尋  山  牢  孤   
功  去  容  載  蹤  緻  籠  峰
。   ,  。  ,  。  ,  。  ,

Perceiving the Landscape, I Compose This Worthless Verse

Blue-green ocean encircles a solitary peak,
Rugged hills edge this prison cage.
Birds to avoid cold mountain fineries,
Wild geese make no trace.

Landing has been hard for more than half a year,
My face flushed with hatred and worry.
Now I must return to my country
Like the jingwei bird having toiled in empty air.