Here is part number five of Gu Cheng's poem Poetry Lessons. Parts one through four are in the previous posts.
5.
All things, material or alive, including people, have their dreams.
Each of these dreams is of its own world,
The desert dreams of the cloud’s dark shadow, flowers dream of the butterfly’s kiss; and dew dreams of the sea . . .
I too have a dream. Distant but distinct, it is not just of its own world, it is of a paradise beyond the world.
It is beautiful and pristine. When I opened the book of fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen, my young mind flooded with light.
I travel toward it, gradually becoming transparent, casting away the shadow behind me. There is only the road, the open road.
The value of my life is in this moving on.
I want to use the pure metal of my mind to forge a key to open the gates of this paradise for people to see. If possible, I will then have the good fortune to sink into the darkness.
Gu Cheng
When I first read this, I found the abrupt darkness at the end quite surprising. Darkness, hopelessness and depression always leave me feeling helpless. I've been putting off finishing posting this poem because I want to say something about Gu Cheng and I am still working out the train of thought in my mind.
This evening my grandsons took me out in the boat again and we fed swans, who turned out to like Fritos as much as any gull would. THAT was a little depressing. I think I got some nice pictures.
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