Laura at dVerse asks us to reinterpret one of several Chinese poems. I’ve chosen to reimagine “Stopping at Incense Storing Temple” by Wang Wei.
When in the concatenation of bells that toll
I stop at dusty pools of ghost-bearing scents
The rains having come and gone, ashes remain
The acrid smoke of the dead stings my eyes
Choking the young, ridiculing the old
I turn away to the bowers of forest glades
Where You await storing love’s incense
And I like a wanderer home at last
Stand strong in Your warm embrace
Escaping the dragon of the past
To rise with You to eternal joy.
This Jolly Beggar 
I enjoyed the contrast from beginning “acrid smoke of the dead” to waft into “love’s incense” and “eternal joy.” Great image as well! 👏👏
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Thank you Tricia! 🌹
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A lovely re-interpretation! Beautiful imagery!
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Thank you. 🙂
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I enjoyed how you weaved in the darkness but, found light and joy in the ending.
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Thank you! :>)
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Really great Dora! I love your ending… with theological implications.
Stand strong in Your warm embrace
Escaping the dragon of the past
To rise with You to eternal joy.
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More often than not it’s the fears and the griefs, guilt and sin, of the past that weigh down faith. At least it is for me. Thanks Dwight.
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Yes, I believe you are right!
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I like that defined shift between the cold choking ashes at the temple at the living embrace of nature. Nicely done, Dora!
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Thank you Lisa. “defined shift” —that’s a fine way of putting it. Appreciate that. 🙂
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Most welcome, Dora 🙂
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“Escaping the dragon of the past” is a wonderful image – beautifully written.
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Wow, Dora, how lovely! And that sure ended on an uplifting note, to say the least 😀
❤
David
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I’m not sure I captured the tone Wang Wei was going for, but meditation in and of itself, if it leads me upward, it’s done it’s job. Thanks David. ❤️
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I love the way the ‘ghost-bearing scents’ drift through your reinterpretation, Dora, to become ‘acrid smoke of the dead’ and ‘love’s incense’, and finally become ‘a wanderer home at last … escaping the dragon of the past’. Wonderful!
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I love seeing it through your eyes, thank you Kim! 🙂
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youth and age, love and death – you put so much into this poem Dora, so vivdly told in so many lovely lines but I especially liked how you wound in the dragon too
“Escaping the dragon of the past”
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We all have our dragons, a metaphor that seems to translate well across cultures. Thank you Laura. 🙂
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“Choking the young, ridiculing the old
I turn away to the bowers of forest glades ”
This is like turning a corner, knowing you can walk away from the past into a brighter present.
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The power of hope. Thank you Ken.
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I love how you turn from the darkness to brightness… it feels like an awakening.
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An awakening: I like that! Thanks Björn.
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A most beautiful reinterpretation 😀 I especially love; “I turn away to the bowers of forest glades
where You await storing love’s incense.” 💝💝
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Glad you enjoyed it Sanaa! Thank you.
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A lovely poem – really vivid imagery.
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So glad you liked it. Thank you!
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Your reinterpretation is beautiful, sad and hopeful at the same time. Well done!
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Thank you for those generous words, RC.
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He has been one of my favorit poets since decades. A couple of years ago I put paintings together which reflect Wang Wei’s poems. Quite fascinating project.
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I imagine it would be given Wei’s inspiring words. Thanks for dropping by!
pax,
dora
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