China Song (Zhong guo ge qu)

Last night I heard a Chinese song

That conjured almond eyes,

It swelled and soared, and took the air

I sought to breathe, my friend,

That song poured out the sadness that

I’d seen behind your lies,

It soared and swelled, and slipped and dipped,

Heartbroken at the end.

 

But you just smiled and chattered,

Though your words were terse and bleak,

They hid some strange confusion, and

A hurt that would not mend, 

I’d seen you cry before, with not

A tear on either cheek,

When Chinese tear-ducts dry, but cry -

It seems that you pretend.

 

Five thousand years of sorrow

Taught you Chinese not to weep,

To show no strong emotion, to

Accept the fate you’re sent,

The pendulum that swings one way,

May cut you while you sleep,

But always swings the other way

Confucius say - my friend!

 

So all your love and laughter and

The sadness of your past,

Is built in to the music that your

Cultured songsters write,

And truly, when I listen

To that swelling sound at last,

Your tears well up, and overflow

From my eyes, every night.

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Feng Zi]

I'm chinese. And I very well liked this poem, as much as I like chinese songs. And at this very moment whilst I type this review, I'm listening to a chinese song as well.

Chinese songs, they are very much different from english songs - though why, I cannot pinpoint the exact reason. Most of the chinese songs I hear are light but have this vague sense of heavy sorrow and unity buried within the lyrics and tunes.

You captured that greatly in your poem.

[Valentine]

Found one I hadn't read before. Like the last grouping the best. Valentine

[Claire in VA]

I can hear sad tones in authentic music. Now I know I'm not imagining it.
The rhyme scheme here seems different than what you used in the other
poems of yours that I have read.
Very touching ending.
~Claire