My comments on "To a Friend," by Wang Wei This poem has special resonance for me. I remember a neighbour once asked me for a small branch off a flowering almond tree in our yard. It made me look again at the tree. It was flowering magnificently, the flowers white, with a delicate pink centre. The whole tree was covered with this blossom and the ground underneath was also carpeted. What could be more important to Wang Wei than whether his tree was flowering yet? Merv Daw Other comments: I think this is a homesick poem. In the poem, Wang Wei meets a person from his hometown and asks him something about his hometown (Has the winter plum tree before my latticed window blossomed yet?). I love this question, because it is a very different way to express his feeling. He does not ask after about his town directly, but he asks the visitor about his flowering tree. This poem amply describes his homesick feeling. He misses his hometown. We can feel his mood from the poem. Tommy Hung This poem has a special resonance for me too. When I was a kid, I lived in the countryside. There were so many trees and flowers and I had many friends there. It was the happiest time in my life. But now, I am living in a city, and my old friends were transferred one by one, gradually. I have not seen them for a long time! I yearn for my life as a young kid. Edmond Tiu. The poem is presented below: |
| Window on Chinese Poetry |
| "To a friend" by Wang Wei You have just returned from my home town, and should know what is happening there; when you came, had the winter plum tree before my latticed window blossomed yet? |
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