Li Ching Chao

Here you will find the Poem Sorrow of Departure of poet Li Ching Chao

Sorrow of Departure

Red lotus incense fades on 
The jeweled curtain. Autumn 
Comes again. Gently I open 
My silk dress and float alone 
On the orchid boat. Who can 
Take a letter beyond the clouds? 
Only the wild geese come back 
And write their ideograms 
On the sky under the full 
Moon that floods the West Chamber. 
Flowers, after their kind, flutter 
And scatter. Water after 
Its nature, when spilt, at last 
Gathers again in one place. 
Creatures of the same species 
Long for each other. But we 
Are far apart and I have 
Grown learned in sorrow. 
Nothing can make it dissolve 
And go away. One moment, 
It is on my eyebrows. 
The next, it weighs on my heart.