Valentine's Day Love Poem: Guan Daosheng

Chinese poet Guan Daosheng (1262-1319) was one of China's most renowned artists and poets. One of her favorite subjects to paint was bamboo and after her death her husband, also a famous artist, devoted himself to painting bamboo almost exclusively. Between them they raised six children; they traveled extensively together in China, and if her poetry is any indication, the love between them must have been deep and abiding. This is her poem called Married Love.

Bamboo painting by Kuan Daosheng

Take a lump of clay
Wet it, pat it,
Make a statue of you
And make a statue of me.
Then shatter them, clatter them,
Add some water
And break them and mould them
Into a statue of you
And a statue of me.
Then in mine there are bits of you
And in yours there are bits of me
Nothing ever shall keep us apart.

Thank you to my friend Elizabeth for making me aware of this beautiful poem.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.