Ancient Literature in our Modern World

Hi all,

It was very difficult for me to find the relationship between a poem and a song and that is why it took me so long to post. But I finally realized what I was doing wrong. I know the meaning of the songs because I hear them over and over again and tried to do the same with a poem after only reading it once or twice. I read this poem a zillion times today and I finally made it speak to me. We had a beautiful conversation and this is what it told me…

“The River-Merchant’s Wife: A Letter Ezra Pound” translated by Rihaku tells the story about a love that started when they were both very young. The woman in the poem didn’t know any other love. He departed after just a short time of enjoying love and she decides to wait for him even if it hurts.

I relate this poem to the song “Right Here Waiting” by Richard Marx.

At the beginning of the poem I see how the author tries to represent how young they were when the love began, when it says:

“While my hair was still cut straight across my forehead

I played about the front gate, pulling flowers.

You came by on bamboo stilts, playing horse,

You walked about my seat, playing with blue plums.

And we went on living in the village of Chokan:

Two small people, without dislike or suspicion.

She wanted to be with him forever, “I desired my dust to be mingled with yours”. That love had no end in her heart. Her love departed and she kept waiting. She waited a long time, so long that the moss grew deep. She is getting older and she knows it, the wait is hurting her but she doesn’t care. She will still wait for her one and only love.

Reading you can feel her desperation and anxiety because she misses him and wants him to come back. In his song Richard Marx starts by saying:

“Oceans apart day after day And I slowly go insane…”

I can picture her in my head looking out the window and going crazy waiting for her love.

When I compared portions of the song and the poem, they both gave me the same feeling. A feeling of desire for a love to never end. The conviction of waiting for that one person no matter how long it takes.

Poem:

“I desired my love to be mingled with yours

Forever and forever and forever”

 Song:

“Wherever you go Whatever you do I will be right here waiting for you Whatever it takes Or how my heart breaks I will be right here waiting for you

I took for granted, all the times That I thought would last somehow”

I have a very mixed taste for music. I saw a posts about “Wake Me Up When September Ends”, “Chandelier”, “Day And Night”, and I love them all. It all depends on the mood I wake up in. I hope some of you like Richard Marx as well, he is a great artist and his songs continue to be perfection even after so many years.

Here is the link, I know after listening to this song some of you will feel like listening to romantic songs like this all night. I do 🙂