Tang Poetry: The Gan Yu

By Chen Z’iang (Translated by Lan Hua)

The orchids birthed
Through spring
And summer both

Such luxuriant growth
How can leaf
Be so green

Hidden and alone
In the forest remote

The vermillion flowers
Hang from a purplish stem

Slowly absorbing
The light as the
Daytime fades

And with the first hint
Of autumn’s wind

The blossoms reach
Their fullest extent
Falling as the stem trembles

A sudden fragrance
Released that
No one expected

Lan Hua is a writer and translator based in New York.  His translations of Chinese poetry are available online at www.tangspirit.net  and his own poetry is available online at  lampoetry.blogspot.com