— Li Shangyin
The guest has left my tower high,
My garden flowers pell-mell fly.
Here and there over the winding way
They say goodbye to parting day.
I won’t sweep them with broken heart,
But wish they would not fall apart.
Their love with spring won’t disappear,
Each dewdrop turns into a tear.
Note
Li Shangyin (c. 813–858) was a master poet of the late Tang Dynasty, famed for his richly allusive, emotionally layered, and often melancholic verse. His work blends personal sorrow with philosophical reflection, using delicate natural imagery – like falling flowers – to evoke themes of transience, unfulfilled longing, and the quiet ache of loss.
His poem “Falling Flowers” opens with a scene of emptiness: honored guests have departed from the high pavilion, leaving the poet alone in his small garden where petals drift wildly in the wind. The blossoms scatter unevenly along winding paths, their beauty stretching into the distance as they catch the last light of sunset.
Overwhelmed with grief, the speaker cannot bear to sweep them away – though he strains his eyes toward the horizon, still hoping for a return that will never come. The final couplet delivers a heart-wrenching realization: the flower’s “fragrant heart” has given itself entirely to spring, only to end in nothing but tears on the poet’s sleeves.
Here, the falling flowers symbolize not just seasonal change, but wasted devotion, fleeting beauty, and the futility of deep emotional investment in an impermanent world – echoing Li Shangyin’s own experiences of political marginalization and personal bereavement.
落花
— 李商隐
高阁客竟去，
小园花乱飞。
参差连曲陌，
迢递送斜晖。
肠断未忍扫，
眼穿仍欲归。
芳心向春尽，
所得是沾衣。
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