Anonymous in Tang dynasty
I advise you not to cherish witch hazel,
I advise you to cherish your youth.
Flowers can be folded straight,
Don't wait until there are no flowers to break branches.
Why choose such a poem, even the author doesn't know? Because I really like this poem.
Poetry is a melody that can be sung. Golden Zoysia is really a song. It is a famous pop song in the middle Tang Dynasty. There is a singer Du Qiuniang who sings best, because this song has realized a legendary life. Let's stop gossiping here and enjoy this poem directly.
Look at the first two sentences: "Advise you not to cherish gold clothes, and advise you to cherish youth." This is really what a song looks like. Both sentences begin with "advise you", and the word "pity" is also repeated. But the two sentences have opposite meanings, one is "don't cherish" and the other is "cherish and ask for".
We know that repetition is the most taboo in poetry, that is, the same meaning must be expressed in another word. But this poem is different, its characteristic is the beauty of reciprocating. Therefore, this kind of repetitive sentence pattern with opposite meaning gives people a deeper impression.
Witchwear, woven with gold thread, is quite expensive, but the poem tells us not to cherish it. Why? Because there are things more valuable than "witch hazel" and "youth". There is not a poem that says "flowers will come again, and people will never be young again", so we should "cherish youth", which is gone forever.
This truth is actually a cliche. But different people say it in different ways, and the effect is still different. For example, if he is a teacher, he may say that "the prime of life is gone forever, and it is difficult to get up in the morning", or he may say that "young people don't work hard, but old disciples are sad", which is true, but full of lessons and seems blunt. But this is different. It looks at you with burning eyes like a young woman, and pays tribute to you again and again: "I advise you not to cherish gold clothes and to cherish youth." She is expecting you, expecting you to be wonderful, doing something, not wasting your time, not wasting your time.
The normal state of poetry is generally: write scenery first, then express feelings. But this poem is different. We see that the first two sentences are direct lyric, and the last two sentences are scenery. The poem ends with beautiful scenery and an ocean of flowers. How beautiful, people can't bear to live up to it.
Let's take a look at the last two sentences: "flowers can be folded straight, don't wait until there are no flowers." This is the way of comparison, comparing life to flowers, let's hurry to pursue and appreciate. When the flowers bloom, if they are not folded in time, only branches will be left soon. Not only is our youth limited, but all the opportunities and beauty in the world will not wait for you. You may delay, but time will not. As Zhang Ailing said, "Be famous early".
Like the first two sentences, these two sentences are repeated. "Flower" appears twice and "Fold" appears three times. The content is the opposite. How about the first sentence saying "flowers must bloom" and the last sentence saying "no flowers"? But these two sentences with opposite meanings mean the same thing: "cheer me up until the end of spring", which is another way of saying that the first two sentences "cherish being a teenager" However, it is more urgent to urge us to be "straight" and not to leave empty regrets.
The whole story goes back and forth, singing and sighing, which makes people feel so sad and beautiful!
The first two sentences eloquently advise you, and the last two sentences boldly and enthusiastically encourage you. I don't think this is a bitter poem that pursues beauty, but an inspirational poem that is universally applicable.
It advises us not to lose good times; Encourage us to pursue love; Inspire us to pursue our own career ... it expresses simple and rich feelings, straightforward and swaying, like poetry and song. As the saying goes, "Pinellia blooms" and "it flourishes and declines", we should: don't lose a good time, but cherish youth.
end