Ballad Of The Old Cypress Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQJBP ROLST U VPPO WPXPNYU PPZP OA2B2U PPC2P PUPD2 E2F2A2 G2PU H2I2H2 NPN PBJ2B| In front of the temple of Chu ko Liang there is an old cypress Its branches | A |
| are like green bronze its roots like rocks around its great girth of forty | B |
| spans its rimy bark withstands the washing of the rain Its jet colored top | C |
| rises two thousand feet to greet the sky Prince and statesman have long since | D |
| paid their debt to time but the tree continues to be cherished among men When | E |
| the clouds come continuous vapors link it with the mists of the long Wu | F |
| Gorge and when the moon appears the cypress tree shares the chill of the | G |
| Snowy Mountains' whiteness | H |
| I remember a year or so ago where the road wound east round my Brocade | I |
| River pavilion the First Ruler and Chu ko Liang shared the same shrine There | J |
| too were towering cypresses on the ancient plain outside the city The paint | K |
| work of the temple's dark interior gleamed dully through derelict doors and | L |
| windows But this cypress here though it holds its ground well clinging with | M |
| wide encompassing snake like hold yet because of its lonely height rising | N |
| into the gloom of the sky meets much of the wind's fierce blast Nothing but | O |
| the power of Divine Providence could have kept it standing for so long its | P |
| straightness must be the work of the Creator himself If a great hall had | Q |
| collapsed and beams for it were needed ten thousand oxen might turn their | J |
| heads inquiringly to look at such a mountain of a load But it is already | B |
| marvel enough to astonish the world without any need to undergo a craftsman's | P |
| embellishing It has never refused the axe there is simply no one who could | R |
| carry it away if it were felled Its bitter heart has not escaped the ants but | O |
| there are always phoenixes roosting in its scented leaves Men of ambition and | L |
| you who dwell unseen do not cry out in despair From of old the really great | S |
| has never been found a use for | T |
| - | |
| - | |
| Another Translation | U |
| - | |
| In front of K'ung ming Shrine | V |
| stands an old cypress | P |
| With branches like green bronze | P |
| and roots like granite | O |
| - | |
| Its hoary bark far round | W |
| glistens with raindrops | P |
| And blueblack hues high up | X |
| blend in with Heaven's | P |
| Long ago Statesman King | N |
| kept Time's appointment | Y |
| But still this standing tree has men's devotion | U |
| - | |
| United with the mists | P |
| of ghostly gorges | P |
| Through which the moon brings cold | Z |
| from snowy mountains | P |
| - | |
| I recall near my hut | O |
| on Brocade River | A2 |
| Another Shrine is shared by | B2 |
| King and Statesman | U |
| - | |
| On civil ancient plains | P |
| with stately cypress | P |
| The paint there now is dim | C2 |
| windows shutterless | P |
| - | |
| Wide wide though writhing roots | P |
| maintain its station | U |
| Far far in lonely heights | P |
| many's the tempest | D2 |
| - | |
| When its hold is the strength | E2 |
| of Divine Wisdom | F2 |
| And straightness by the work of the Creator | A2 |
| - | |
| Yet if a crumbling Hall | G2 |
| needed a rooftree Yoked herds would turning heads | P |
| balk at this mountain | U |
| - | |
| By art still unexposed all have admired it | H2 |
| But axe though not refused | I2 |
| who could transport it | H2 |
| - | |
| How can its bitter core deny ants lodging | N |
| All the while scented boughs | P |
| give Phoenix housing | N |
| - | |
| Oh ambitious unknowns | P |
| sigh no more sadly | B |
| Using timber as big | J2 |
| was never easy | B |
Du Fu
(1)
Poem topics: , Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme
Submit Spanish Translation
Submit German Translation
Submit French Translation
About Ballad Of The Old Cypress
Ballad Of The Old Cypress is a poem by Du Fu. This page includes the poem text, poet information, related topics, comments, and similar poems.