Tag Archives: ezra pound

Ezra Pound, “Taking Leave of a Friend”

Taking Leave of a Friend Li Po (tr. Ezra Pound) Blue mountains to the north of the walls, White river winding about them; Here we must make separation And go out through a thousand miles of dead grass. Mind like a floating wide cloud, Sunset like the parting of old acquaintances Who bow over their

The Erotic Contemplation of What Is? Thinking on “The Jewel Stairs’ Grievance”

The Jewel Stairs’ Grievance (from Adam Kirsch’s “Disturbances of Peace”) Li Po, trans. Ezra Pound The jeweled steps are already quite white with dew, It is so late that the dew soaks my gauze stockings, And I let down the crystal curtain And watch the moon through the clear autumn. Comment: Kirsch provides us with

Notes on Ezra Pound’s "A Virginal"

This was written a while ago, and is an interpretation I’m still very uncertain of. These are just notes. A Virginal Ezra Pound No, no! Go from me. I have left her lately. I will not spoil my sheath with lesser brightness, For my surrounding air hath a new lightness; Slight are her arms, yet

Purity and Growth: On Pound’s "Fan Piece, for Her Imperial Lord"

Fan-Piece, for Her Imperial Lord Ezra Pound O Fan of white silk, clear as frost on the grass-blade, You also are laid aside. Commentary: The fan is a thing of beauty and richness for a woman of power. It is white, and its beauty certainly comes from its being spotless, its being pure. Yet the

On Pound’s "In a Station of the Metro"

In a Station of the Metro Ezra Pound The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough. Commentary: I used to think the speaker of this poem was on a subway car in the Metro, flying by Metro stops and seeing the crowd beside the car. The movement would cause