Beautiful Poems in Fictions

I talked to Gang about the poems I've read in fictions when taking a walk together last night. Poems have the magic of expressing feelings in a mild and indirect way with only a few words and letting the imagination fly. I think it will be fun to introduce some poems I've read in internet fictions so far. Though the translation of classical Chinese poetry into modern English is very awkward, I will try to explain the ideas as complete as I can.

A guy saw his love off in a restaurant by the river, who was about to board and relocated to somewhere thousands of miles away. In grief, he wrote a little poem:

You embark alone, and I lean against the wall,
君上孤舟我倚楼

The east wind drives your boat;
东风吹水送行舟

May God want to keep you here,
老天若有留君意

Driving the river backwards let the west wind blow.
一夜西风水倒流

(Source: An Encounter of Gentle Breeze and Bright Moon)

I could feel his desperation when his love is leaving. He can hardly do anything but to pray to God for a change in wind direction to retain him. All the words seem redundant at the time of sorrow.

Another poetry was written after a guy attending his love's wedding. The story is a Chinese version of Romeo and Julia. A young man was sent on an undercover mission to an enemy state, unfortunately he fell in love with a general there. However he had no choice but to follow the plan and annihilate the general's troops. The general escaped from the siege, and soon got married after his return. Suffering from the guilt of cheating and desperation of love, the young man wanted to take a last look at the general and finally sneaked to his wedding. When he saw the happy couple, he decided to give up. Thus he left a poetry on the table, which was found by the general in the following morning.

Candles burn to the end, watching the smoke ascending in grief,
高烛泪尽恨烟轻

We meet in a hurry but part forever;
一场相逢一场离

I only wish I will never see you again,
争如此生不再见

My tears drop like candle-mud, and my visions are blurred.
雾作氤氲泪作泥

(Source: Gone with the Summer)

The moment when a candle is lit, the candle and smoke meet each other. However as the candle burns in pain, the smoke keeps ascending into the sky while the candle descends in wax mud until they finally part. It's not that they don't love each other, but they are unable to make each other happy. At the end of the story, one committed suicide and the other lived in deep grief for the rest of his life.

The last poetry was found in a fiction about political struggles in ancient China. A young man's entire family was exterminated, but he was rescued by a friend, who took very good care of him. However he failed to recover from the tragedy and was depressed for a long time. One day, his friend wrote a poetry to console him.

I look back, the scenery looks remote,
回波一望悠悠

The moon in the sky won't get old easily;
明月难见白头

Tough mountains are finally eroded after centuries of withering and flourishing,
拟山荣枯有尽

Only soft trickles run quietly but long-lastingly.
若水细细长流

(Source: Another Spring)

After reading the poetry, the young man realized that he still had many years before getting old, and it was too early to get so demoralized. He changed his name to "water-like" (ruo shui 若水), determined to adapting himself to the society, and living like flexible water instead of unyielding mountains.

This is the beauty of Chinese classic poetry. Writers use a few analogies and line-drawings to uncover the tip of an iceberg, but leave readers fantasying the rest. The first two poems don't even mention the word of "love" or "affection", however you can tell how deep the love is through the blowing wind and burning candles. Similarly the last poem doesn't mention anything about "moving on", but the comparison of mountains and waters speaks for itself. Beautiful poems are truly intoxicating.