A poet on a spring day

A poet sits by the riverside pavilion on a spring day, lazing around in the sunshine. The river flows rapidly, yet his heart is as calm and relaxed as a cloud floating in the sky. As spring ripens, the grass grows lush, and everything becomes truly abundant. The poet, looking at the fading spring day, is not content with the fact that all things are lively but not himself. This is because there is no clear way out of the twists and turns of his life.

Although the poet now has a small cottage with the help of his friends and is living together with his family, it is not the ultimate goal of his life. He once had the ambition to climb to the top of a mountain and look down on how small all the other mountains are (from “Looking at the Mountain”), but why is the reality so hopeless and desperate? For years, the Lushan Rebellion has shown no signs of abating, and the life of the poor wanderer seems to have no end in sight. Not having the heart to rush forward like a flowing river is not an attitude of ungratefulness but rather a helpless resignation. Living slowly and staying where he is like a cloud is a lethargic recognition of his exhaustion from the hardships of life.

The “lively and energetic world” is a contradiction and a conflict between the poet and the world. How can his sorrow be relieved? Poetry is the only consolation, but for the poet, it is not a song that flows effortlessly from the heart. It can only be something ‘forcibly created’ by refining and polishing to ‘forget the sufferings.’