H: What We Did (so far this Summer)

What We Did (so far this Summer)

-- by H (Grade 4 student) 26th June 2015

On the twenty-sixth of June

We went to the library at Warden and 

Steeles.

Then, we ate our meals.

We ate sushi at twelve noon.

After, with my brother, we played chess,

I won but it was a big mess!

Then, I watched a movie,

All about the Sea!

Some explanatory notes may be in order:

1. the sub-title of this poem (within brackets) is added on by the blogger. the poem is written by a 10-year-old with some input by her 12-year-old brother. they are now into the 10th day of their 2015 Summer Vacation (when summer camps are not yet in operation).

2. successful completion of a little poem (minimum 8 lines long, in rhyme) on any subject during the 1-hour long lunch will earn the writer a shiny silver coin! (the winner may pick his or her coin from my small collection which will be theirs anyway in the years to come.) sushi is of course one of her favourite meals and the granddaughter accepted the impromptu challenge. when she asked what rhymes with sushi, I said busy, lazy, but sashimi and tasty are not perfect rimes. (this time I did not ask any leading questions, just to see how she would cope).  I told her it was not necessary to rhyme sushi, one could use inversion for end rhymes, like saying: We ate sushi for lunch today. and it is far easier to find the appropriate rhyme for today! then, she became a little moody and the time limit had to be extended. 

3. line 2: this is a small Toronto public library -- Steeles Branch in Scarborough. 
her original line 2 reads:

We went to the library on Steels (sic).

(I changed that to `at Warden and Steeles` to show its exact location.) 

4. line 5: After = Afterwards, 

               After and brother are internal rhymes.

5. line 6: the girl is in fact no match for her elder brother who gave up his queen and two rooks, and he was reading a novel too while playing chess with his sister (and me)! he said we took too long to make a move. (ouch, how humiliating!)(he was last rated at 900-1,100 points, had been coached by a chess master in a small group, and is honing his skills further on a computer chessboard.)

6. lines 7 and 8: it was a BBC documentary -- The Blue Planet: Sea of Life. (highly recommended!) 

H: Thank you for being my Mommy, Happy Birthday!

To Mommy, A Birthday Poem

-- by H (a Grade 4 student): June 22, 2015

(written** on a bench outside the Phoenix Restaurant on Bayview)

Afternoon tea with grandparents is 

yummy.

I wish you were here with Daddy.

We are now going to the library.

On your Birthday we are so happy!

We are enjoying the sunny day.

I want to dive into the bay.

Beside the bay there is a small totem.

This is the end of the poem!

PS: Thank you for being my Mommy!

** Note:

With some assistance of course (like suggested rhymes, some leading questions) by a "self-styled contemporary poet and body guard". (hehee!)

To aid in her all round development, I am going to teach her some martial moves for street-smarting and effective self-defence.

韋莊 人人盡說江南好 O Jiangnan is lovely! -- Says so everybody.

《菩薩蠻》韋莊

人人盡說江南好，遊人只合江南老。
春水碧於天，畫船聽雨眠。

爐邊人似月，皓腕凝霜雪。
未老莫還鄉，還鄉須斷腸。

TUNE: The Buddha Dancer 
-- by Wei Zhuang
-- Translated by Frank C Yue

O Jiangnan is lovely!
-- Says so everybody.
Jiangnan's the place to grow old, only
For itinerant men on journeys.
The Spring waters blue as the skies deep,
Rains on painted boats herald sweet sleep.

Beside the wine stove
Like the Moon the maiden fair --
Her pair of fine wrists bare,
Like the frost and snow.
Unless you are an old man,
Return to your hometown never;
Returning to your hometown (-- my friend),
You shall be heart-broken forever!  

from different sources on the net:
【譯 文】
凡是到過江南的人都說江南的風光無限美好，離家遠遊的人到此一遊都願跟著江南一起蒼老。春天的江水清澈澄碧勝過藍藍的青天，這時躺在畫船之中細聽雨聲 悠然的入眠。

在爐邊賣酒的少女像那一輪的明月，潔白的雙腕像凝滿著霜雪。年輕的遊客未老時還是不要回鄉，若是回鄉一定會使你傷心斷腸。 

翻譯：
大家都說江南好，凡是到江南來玩的遊客，都應該這兒住上一輩子。春天的江水碧綠的比天空還要藍，夜晚可以躺在畫船裡，聽著雨打船篷聲睡覺。 

賣酒的少女像月亮般的美麗，她的手腕像敷上一層霜雪那樣潔白。未曾老去以前，千萬不要離開江南返回故鄉去，如果返鄉，一定會因想念江南而傷心不已。
           
韋莊，字端己。杜陵人，唐昭宗乾寧元年進士，為唐出使蜀國便沒有回去，為王建掌書記，後升為吏部尚書。莊入蜀後，雖位 居顯要，生活優裕，但終是中原人士，其懷鄉思家之愁緒，常流露於字裡行間，且看他的＜菩薩蠻＞、＜荷葉杯＞。他的詞豔麗婉秀，善用白描手法寫閨情離愁。其 詞散見於「花間集」、「尊前集」。與溫庭筠齊名，並稱「溫韋」，為「花間派」二巨頭。

這是詞牌名唐朝教坊曲名:

唐朝官府設有教坊，彙集樂曲，據記載有300多個曲調，史稱“教坊曲”。“教坊曲”約有半數成為後來的詞調。

據《杜陽雜編》載：“大中初，女蠻國貢雙龍犀，明霞錦，其國人危髻金冠，纓絡被體，故謂之‘菩薩蠻’。當時倡優，遂歌‘菩薩蠻曲’，文士亦往往效其詞。”唐時俗稱美女為菩薩，女蠻國的人梳有高高發髻，戴金飾帽子，掛珠玉項圈，故稱之為“菩薩蠻”。

張九齡 自君之出矣 不復理殘機 Since the day you left, my Love

以下英譯承蒙吾友吾師 黃宏發先生 修飾，真箇脫胎換骨，謹此致謝。

the following rendition has been polished up by my friend and mentor Andrew W.F. Wong, to whom I am grateful.

［自君之出矣］唐．張九齡 

    自君之出矣，
    不復理殘機。

    思君如滿月，
    夜夜減清輝。

"Since The Day You Left, My Love"

-- by Zhang Jiuling (678-740)

-- Translated by Frank C Yue

Since the day you left, my Love,

I've ceased to weave the piece I was weaving.

I yearn for you like the full Moon above,

Nightly it wanes while I waste grieving.

from the net:

殘機：機是織布機，殘機是布 ... 

then of course, one should see Sifu Wong's masterpiece, made in the same classical style and rhyming scheme (XAXA) a la the little lovely original Tang poem:

Zhang Jiuling (678-740):  Since from Home You Departed

1 E'er since from home my lord departed,

2 I’ve left untouched my weaving loom.

3 Like the full moon, O I long for you,  

4 Nightly it wanes while I waste in gloom.

Translated by Andrew W.F. Wong (Huang Hongfa)     

譯者: 黃宏發

18^th June 2012 (revised 19.6.12; 9.8.12)
Translated from the original - 

張九齡:  自君之出矣

1        自君之出矣

2        不復理殘機

3        思君如滿月

4        夜夜減清輝

if interested, please visit Mr. Andrew Wong's blog:

Classical Chinese Poems in English