Love of Ci'an
by Tim Kavi
gentle breezes
flew from
Kunming's
frozen lake
I walked it
with my love
near Cixi's place
Then I heard
her gentle sighs
in the full light
of winter's surprise
where
in the hall of
the Buddhas
near a
Temple of Incense
your heart
was fully seen
in the ghostly sheen
mist of
winter morn
I heard
your whispers
to a future unborn
for in the
plans of Cixi
you were
overlooked
love was but a dream
wafting
in the smoke
and carried
throughout
eternity
yet it
warmed
my cold hands
with the gloves
you bought
across
the Great Wall
flying
to the Deserts
of Dunhuang
as beautiful
as Guan Yin
the wind
that blew between
us and brought
me to your wings
to your lips
two countries
two hearts
that had
now evolved
to mix together
yet now lived
so far apart
found
each other
in that first
destiny's kiss
but was
too soon departed
and in that mix
of winter's day
I heard the crying of Ci'an
broken hearted
scheming deceit
would bring the Emperor
at long last
a piteous son
so I walked
and you followed
down the steps
history there was undone.
Poet's Comments: .
Buddhist and Chinese themes: this poem mentions the Caves of Dunhuang (where sacred Buddhist cave drawings are near where the Goddess Guan Yin encountered the Monkey King). Guan Yin the Bodhisattva or Buddhist Goddess of Compassion is mentioned in the poem as well. The setting of the poem is in China at The Summer Palace in Beijing. Kunming Lake is there, and I did walk on the frozen lake in the Winter of 2005. Later that day, I also had the pleasure of touring the grounds of the Summer Palace, including the Long Corridor and at the very highest point, the Buddhist Temple of Incense. This was in part, a building with a very large Buddha in it and many other Buddhas lined the walls of that place.
The Summer Palace was one of the residences of the Emperor and Empress. As the Qing Dynasty ended in 1908, the last major empress to live there was Cixi who supplanted Ci'an. Cixi was a powerful empress, some would consider a despot and villain, others see her as very intelligent and highly political. Ci'an was the main consort of the Emperor until Cixi became the predominant one and bore the Emperor his only son. Where Ci'an was quiet, loyal, and an Empress known for meekness, Cixi was very much her opposite, skillful and manipulative, and ruling whatever she could with a conniving and mighty fist. Although an Empress was never allowed to make political suggestions, Cixi often did so from behind a curtain. Cixi became the main Empress, especially after the sudden death of Ci'an. Some believe that Ci'an was poisoned by Cixi because Ci'an had always been in excellent health until the day of her untimely death.
In this poem there is some encounter with a presence or ghostlike figure, such as Ci'an. Ci'an, who feels overlooked, is longing for love. Her spirit is felt by the foreigner who even comes from a distant land. Like incense, her symbolic nature as part of history spreads out over the Great Wall and then all the way to the Dunhuang caves (which is out along the Silk Road and near Mongolia) where she is like the goddess. As a counterpoint there is an outplaying of this tension between two cross cultural lovers as they are finding each other in love --shown in other verses of this poem. Obviously, some of the verses in the poem are between the two lovers themselves as they find themselves in this historical place, or perhaps, there is an encounter of a man with the ghost of Ci'an! ---- T.K.
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