Chrysanthemum, or Ninth Month FlowerA Song of the Chrysanthemums
Along Prefect Tao’s fence,As autumn comes, the chrysanthemums colour and bloom.
From a forest of a thousand jade-green leaves,
With golden scissors, cut a flowering stem.
Chasing the buds makes the bee's beard messy;
Bravely following, the butterfly's wings are aflutter.
Carrying the fragrance, the breeze wafts through the greenness.
Tranquil shadows play across the window.
Resolutely wavering, the frosty hues,
Fresh and graceful, flowers open to the sun.
Such scent and beauty were seen at Pengze,
What higher praise is there than this?
Gong Chengyi
(Tang period, China 618-907)
Great idea with the friday flowers! Never seen this before! love the Chrysanthemum shot!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!
ReplyDeleteSo pretty! I just put two yellow mums on my porch as the heather had seen better days! It is such a sign of fall for me.
ReplyDeleteThese are my fav fall flowers--mostly because of the color vibrancy and variety. Seems to match fall shades, in my eyes.
ReplyDeleteI like the chrysanthemums...they come in so many wonderful colors. I only wish they smelled as pretty as they look!
ReplyDeleteI love fall mums and always have such a hard time picking a favorite color to plant.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments. I love the various colours the chrysanthemums come in to and have picked a dark red one for my deck this year. For those with "fall colouring" like KGMom, these flowers can be an accessory ;)
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why the poet raved about their smell. Like Ruthie, I haven't been attracted to their scent. Perhaps they smelled better in first millennium China.