.
Branch of Flowering White Jasmine: attributed to Zao Chang, early 12th century, album leaf painting, ink and color on silk, 24.9 × 27.1 cm (Shanghai Museum)
It’s a pity we have to suffer
The bluejay said to me with a wink
If any part of the body be cut off
No part of the soul perishes but
Is sucked into that soul that remains
In that which remains of the body
These aren’t tears anyway just eye gunk
And you’ve always taught me to be brave
As the last kindly rays of February
Sun warm bare ruined plum tree choirs
And light them up with a gaggle of buds
From which a few white blossoms are just
Starting to pop open as traffic hums
And in this moment there is nothing lost
The bluejay said to me with a wink
If any part of the body be cut off
No part of the soul perishes but
Is sucked into that soul that remains
In that which remains of the body
These aren’t tears anyway just eye gunk
And you’ve always taught me to be brave
As the last kindly rays of February
Sun warm bare ruined plum tree choirs
And light them up with a gaggle of buds
From which a few white blossoms are just
Starting to pop open as traffic hums
And in this moment there is nothing lost
Bird in a bamboo and plum tree thicket: Anonymous Chinese painter, 12th Century
Bird on a branch: Li Anzhong, late Northern / early Southern Song Dynasty, early to mid 12th century, album leaf on silk, 25.4 x 26.9 cm (Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taibei)
Cloudy Mountains: Mi Youren, Southern Song Dynasty, c. 1130 (Cleveland Museum of Art)