Feb. 26, 2015
Lucy Gray

OFT I had heard of Lucy Gray:
And, when I crossed the wild,
I chanced to see at break of day
The solitary child.
….
--Yet some maintain that to this day
She is a living child;
That you may see sweet Lucy Gray
Upon the lonesome wild.

O’er rough and smooth she trips along,
And never looks behind;
And sings a solitary song
That whistles in the wind.

Sweet Lucy Gray upon the lonesome wild is so beautiful an image that we can not forget. When I was young, I loved a girl, who lived in southern Taiwan. My memory of her is like the countryman’s memory of Lucy Gray, who never looks behind, and sings a solitary song that whistles in the wind. Gone with the wind is my love for the sweet country girl. She is like winds in my life, and I will never forget her, especially when I take a walk under the starry sky, missing my childhood. She is indeed a forever Lucy Gray in my mind.

Feb. 27
We Are Seven

--A simple child,
That lightly draws its breath,
And feels its life in every limb,
What should it know of death?
…
“Two of us in the church-yard lie,
My sister and my brother;
…

“How many are you, then,” said I,
“If they two are in heaven?”
Quick was the little Maid’s reply,
“O Master! We are seven,”

“But they are dead; those two are dead!
Their spirits are in heaven!”
‘Twas throwing words away; for still
The little Maid would have her will,
And said, “Nay, we are seven!”

Although two of the seven siblings lie in the church-yard, the kids still think that they are seven. In the eyes of the innocent kids, there is no distinction between life and death. Death can not separate them from other siblings. How beautiful and good the brotherhood is. I have a prodigal younger brother, who I have not seen him for more than one decade. Sometimes I pray for him, begging God to give him a peaceful and sufficient life.
The unity between siblings is God’s blessings, which are like morning dews in the mountain of Zion. Although death is the common destiny of all humans, the power of death can not overcome the power of love. Love is everlasting, and love conquers all.

Feb. 28
Untitled

She dwelt among the untrodden ways
Beside the springs of Dove,
A maid whom there were none to praise
And very few to love:

A violet by a mossy stone
Half hidden from the eye!
--Fair as a star, when only one
Is shining in the sky.

She lived unknown, and few could know
When Lucy ceased to be;
But she is in her grave, and oh,
The difference to me!

I have married Spring Su for about two decades. She is actually a violet by a mossy stone half hidden from the eye. And she is also like a star shining in the sky. She came from a countryside, and few loved her when she was young. I chose her as my life-long spiritual companion, for she strongly desired to accompany me in the path of holiness and righteousness of the Lord. And the peace of the Lord endorsed our marriage. This is indeed God’s will. And I accompanied, am accompanying, and will accompany her until I cease to be and in my grave.

March 1 The Daffodils

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When I all at once I saw a cloud,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
…
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought.

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

The daffodils are continuous as the stars that shine and twinkle on the milky way that stretched in never-ending line along the margin of a bay. They are tossing their heads in sprightly dance. A poet is so gay in such a jocund company of golden daffodils, which flash upon that inward eye which is the bliss of solitude.
Especially in vacant or pensive mood, the company of the daffodils fills the heart of the poet with pleasure.
I plant many pots of flowers in my balcony. I keep it a practice to water them every morning. I enjoy the blossoming of a variety of flowers in diverse shapes and colors. My emotion is filled with pleasure and quietness when I keep taking care of these plants. They turn out to be blessings when I stay in a pensive mood. Man comes from dust and will turn to be dust someday. I love the earth, which is home to all creatures.

March 2
To the Cuckoo
O blithe new-comer! I have heard,
I hear thee and rejoice.
O cuckoo! Shall I call thee bird,
Or but a wandering voice?

While I am lying on the grass
The twofold shout I hear;
From hill to hill it seems to pass
At once far off, and near.

Though babbling only to the Vale,
Of sunshine and of flowers,
Thou bringest unto me a tale
Of visionary hours,

Thrice welcome, darling of the Spring!
Even yet thou art to me
No bird, but an invisible thing,
A voice, a mystery;
…
To seek thee did I often rove
Through woods and on the green;
And thou wert still a hope, a lover;
Still longed for, never seen.

And I can listen to thee yet;
Can lie upon the plain
And listen, till I do beget
That golden time again.
…

A cuckoo, a newcomer and darling of the Spring is a hope, a love. Her voice is a mystery, making listeners rejoice. The poet roves to seek the cuckoo through woods and on the green. The earth is an unsustainable, faery place, that is fit home for the cuckoo.
I have kept bird pets for years. I enjoyed their presence and liked their voices. They are an icon of the Spring and messengers of the Creator. A dove is a messenger informing people of the end of a catastrophe and bringing men God’s promise that there is no more flood. We have troubles in the world, but we are promised to enjoy peace in the Lord.
Just as a poet in the Tang dynasty put it, we can not even wake up while sleeping in spring, and the voices of the birds are everywhere.

March 5
Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey, on Revisiting the Banks of the Wye during a Tour

Fives years have past; five summers, with the length
Of five long winters! And again I hear
These waters, rolling from their mountain-springs
….
These beauteous forms,
Through a long absence, have not been to me
As is a landscape to a blind man’s eye:
But oft, in lonely rooms, and ‘mid the din
Of towns and cities, I have owed to them,
In hours of weariness, sensations sweet,
Felt in the blood, and felt along the heart;
And passing even into my purer mind,
With tranquil restoration: feeling too
Of unremembered pleasure: such, perhaps,
As have no slight of trivial influence
On that best portion of a good man’s life,
His little, nameless, unremembered, acts
Of kindness and of love. Nor less, I trust,
To them I may have owed another gift,
Of aspect more sublime; that blessed mood,
In which the burthen of the mystery,
In which the heavy and the weary weight
Of all this unintelligible world,
Is lightened:--that serene and blessed mood,
In which the affections gently lead us on,--
Until, the breath of this corporeal frame
And even the motion of our human blood
Almost suspended, we are laid asleep
In body, and become a living soul:
While with an eye made quiet by the power
Of harmony and the deep power of joy,
We see into the life of things.
…
The power of the landscape which we enjoy in tranquility and calmness can bring us a lot of pleasure, which can heal our soul and refresh our mind. A tour on the trails of the mountain, a hiking to a seaside, or a bike tour to a field can make us pleasant, refreshed, bringing a restoration to our mind. My family used to have a domestic travel to a country town every six months. The tour to a mountain or a seaside gives my family the deep joy of power and so helps us so much. Why not go to the wilderness or seaside to breathe in the fresh air and relax in nature?

March 7 The World is too much with us

The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
For this, for everything, we are out of tunes;
It moves us not,--Great God! I’d rather be
A pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
…
The world is too much with us because the whole world is under the hand of the devil, who comes to the world to steal and destroy the lives of human beings. Vanity in vanity, and all is vanity. Man’s labor under the sun more often than not becomes nothing. However, the reality in life is God’s presence. I pledge to stay in my Christian faith all my life. God’s words are sweet and true at all times. How can a pagan enjoy the grace and blessings of Heavenly Father? And without God’s blessings and care, how can we live in peace and joy? I love God and His words, which show forth the power and glory in the past, and will sustain my life and my family in decades to come and even forever.

March 9
Composed upon Westminster Bridge

Earth has not anything to show more fair:
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty:
This city now doth, like a garment, wear
The beauty of the morning; silent, bare
Ships, towers, domes, theaters, and temples lie
Open unto the fields, and to the sky;
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
Never did sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendor, valley, rock, or hill;
Ne’er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will:
Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still!

Earth has not anything to show more fair. The city of England like a garment wears the beauty of the morning; silent, bare, ships, towers, domes, theaters, and temples lie open unto the fields, and to the sky. We can see in the first splendor, valley, rock, or hill where a calm is so deep.
Although I have lived in New Taipei City two decades or so, my family used to travel to Yilan County during the winter and summer vacation. Yilan’s landscape is so beautiful that I used be soaked in its calm and peace. My family like to have a bike tour around Mei-hua Lake, where the sun glitters in the smokeless air. Dear God, my family can enjoy the township for days and then come back to our hometown refreshed and relaxed.

March 12

The Solitary Reaper
Behold her, single in the field,
Yon solitary Highland Lass!
Reaping and singing by herself;
Stop here, or gently pass!
Alone she cuts and binds the grain,
And sings a melancholy strain;
O listen! For the Vale profound
Is overflowing with the sound.

No nightingale did ever chaunt
More welcome notes to weary bands
Of travelers in some shady haunt,
Among Arabian sands:
A voice so thrilling ne’er was heard
In spring-time from the cuckoo-bird,
Breaking the silence of the seas
Among the farthest Hebrides
…,.

Whate’er the theme, the Maiden sang
As if her song could have no ending;
I saw her singing at her work,
And o’er the sickle bending:--
I listened, motionless and still;
And, as I mounted up the hill,
The music, in my heart I bore,
Long after it was heard no more.

The solitary highland lass, single in the field, is reaping and singing by herself. She sings a melancholy strain, and thus the profound vale is overflowing with the sound. The voice is so thrilling that no one has ever heard in spring time from the cuckoo bird. And the sound breaks the silence of seas. Will anyone tell me what she sings? Is it for old, unhappy, far-off things? Is it some natural sorrow, loss, or pain? Whatever the theme, the maiden sang as if her song could have no ending.
Life is like a song. However, the maiden sang a melancholy song, signifying her sadness, pain, and an unhappy past. I would like my life to be a harmonious, joyful symphony, which bears happy notes being made in a life of joy, hope, power, and ever-lasting salvation of Christ. This is the life I want. This is the life my family wants. Solomon’s song is the song of songs, which is a love song, a song of salvation.

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