Thinking of My Brothers on a Moonlit Night (visiting Tu Fu)
Travel is curtailed as war drums sound
On the border, a lone goose calls out to autumn
Frost seems to glow in the late night air
The bright moon reminds me of home
My brothers have all gone, each his own way
No one there to tell me if they are alive or dead
Who knows if my letters reach them
When the fighting never ends
Literal translations of classic Chinese poetry can be found at chinese-poems.com. This is my interpretation of a poem by Tu Fu. The literal translation, as provided at chinese-poems.com, is as follows:
Thinking of My Brothers on a Moonlit Night
Garrison drum cut person movement
Autumn border one goose sound
Dew from today night white
Moon is homeland bright
Have brother all disperse
No home ask die life
Send letter all not reach
Particularly as not stop fighting
My other interpretations can be found here.
Image source: the iris / The J. Paul Getty Museum
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Reblogged this on O LADO ESCURO DA LUA.
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Thank you for sharing.
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I like your version better. N.
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Thank you. chinese-poems.com offers an interpretation of the literal translation, but I’ve been reading some of them in a different light.
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So poignant…both. “No one is there to tell me if they are dead or alive” is a wonderful complement to “No home ask die life”. (K)
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Heart touching. So sad that it is true for so many.
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Yes, sadly so.
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Timeless and timely words.
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War is never out of style, unfortunately.
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True.
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