Sunday, January 22, 2012

A poem for the Year of the Dragon

This is the first year that I've celebrated three new years, from the typical Gregorian (watching fireworks under the Big Ben) to the Old Orthodox (courtesy of my Russian friend) and the traditional Lunar. I couldn't find any decent stock phrases that really epitomized what I think of when I think of dragons, so I just wrote a poem to commemorate the year of the water dragon. The translation is rough (it rings a little better in four character cadences), but hope you get the message.

從今不肯 守株待兔
要龍至門 必志荀言
積水成淵 蛟龍生焉
人人事多 如濤之沙
未必而去 如沙之散
今行水也 故趁其力
透君之沙 使强於干
然為龍神 至人心道
祝親祝友 無悔之年
龍年快樂 萬事如意

Don't wait for the rabbit by the stump anymore.

Let the words of Xunzi guide the dragon to you:
'Deep in collected water, the jiaolong lives.'

Our problems multiply like sand on the beach
Unfinished, abandoned, like scattered beads

Let Water guide you - use its strength
Hold your sand together, connected and united

This is how dragons enter human souls

I wish my friends and family a year of no regrets
A happy year of the dragon - may you attain all that you wish.


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