tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786207835641480928.post90951025426907851..comments2024-03-18T20:40:13.102-04:00Comments on NeverEnding Story: Butterfly Dream: Three Drunkards Haiku by Doug D'EliaChen-ou Liu, 劉鎮歐http://www.blogger.com/profile/06235248170011255532noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786207835641480928.post-63429019971673817322015-11-02T08:28:33.219-05:002015-11-02T08:28:33.219-05:00The "hai" aspect of this allusive haiku ...The "hai" aspect of this allusive haiku about a man drinking alone under the moon is enhanced by L3, "three drunkards" -- the moon, the speaker, and his shadow.<br /><br />Below is "Drinking Alone by Moonlight" by Li Bai ( also known as Li Po; he was famous for his drinking, but he was no simple-minded drunk. Here drinking is linked to longing for absent friends):<br /><br />A cup of wine, under the flowering trees;<br />I drink alone, for no friend is near.<br />Raising my cup I beckon the bright moon,<br />For he, with my shadow, will make three men.<br />The moon, alas, is no drinker of wine;<br />Listless, my shadow creeps about at my side.<br />Yet with the moon as friend and the shadow as slave<br />I must make merry before the Spring is spent.<br />To the songs I sing the moon flickers her beams;<br />In the dance I weave my shadow tangles and breaks.<br />While we were sober, three shared the fun;<br />Now we are drunk, each goes his way.<br />May we long share our odd, inanimate feast,<br />And meet at last on the Cloudy River of the sky. Chen-ou Liu, 劉鎮歐https://www.blogger.com/profile/06235248170011255532noreply@blogger.com