Science
A monster
with a big head
And so many bright eyes,
But a small cold heart.
Though you act big pretending to know everything
Always tapping on a calculator
And arranging numbers
Looking into a microscope or telescope,
Aren’t you a hardheaded rube
That doesn’t know or feel what is love
That two souls meet to become one?
Why did you, nevertheless, fly to the kingdom of the moon
Flapping the wings like a strong eagle
Only to kill a milling rabbit
And also fly to the kingdoms of the stars
Only to interrupt the love between the Altair and the Vega?
How do you have an idea of the spring water of inspiration
Flowing out of the deep valley of the artist’s soul
And shed light on God’s providence
That Jesus was born
By the Holy Spirit resting on Mary?
Mad Scientist -- Roberto Campus
A monster
with a big head
And so many bright eyes,
But a small cold heart.
Though you act big pretending to know everything
Always tapping on a calculator
And arranging numbers
Looking into a microscope or telescope,
Aren’t you a hardheaded rube
That doesn’t know or feel what is love
That two souls meet to become one?
Why did you, nevertheless, fly to the kingdom of the moon
Flapping the wings like a strong eagle
Only to kill a milling rabbit
And also fly to the kingdoms of the stars
Only to interrupt the love between the Altair and the Vega?
How do you have an idea of the spring water of inspiration
Flowing out of the deep valley of the artist’s soul
And shed light on God’s providence
That Jesus was born
By the Holy Spirit resting on Mary?
Mad Scientist -- Roberto Campus
In many Asian cultures the lunar markings are identified as a rabbit pounding with a mortar and pestle. In Chinese versions it is folklore, it is pounding the elixir of life for Chang'e the moon goddess or, more prosaically, medicine for humans. In Japanese and Korean versions it is pounding the ingredients for rice cake. In the Jataka tales written by Indian Buddhists the rabbit threw itself into a fire to feed a beggar; the old man was actually Shakra, the ruler of the Trayastriṃsha heaven, the 2nd of the 6 heavens, the polar center of the physical world, around which the sun and moon revolve, who drew the rabbit's likeness on the moon for all to see. In 1969, during the Apollo 11 spaceflight, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed the lunar module "Eagle" on the moon.
ReplyDeleteIn other East Asian tales the star Altair, the 2nd-brightest in the northern celestial hemisphere, was represented by a cowherd, who was separated from his lover the weaver, the star Vega, one of the closest stars visible to the naked eye, by the Silver River (the Milky way); but once a year a flock of magpies would form a temporary bridge allowing them to briefly reunite. (Vega is derived from the Arabic phrase "an-nasr al-waqi'" -- the falling eagle, while Altair is an abbreviation of the Arabic "al-nesr al-ṭā’ir" -- the flying eagle.) The 11th-century poet Qin Guan alluded to them in his poem "Meeting across the Milky Way": Through the varying shapes of the delicate clouds, the sad message of the shooting stars, a silent journey across the Milky Way, one meeting of the Cowherd and Weaver amidst the golden autumn wind and jade-glistening dew, eclipses the countless meetings in the mundane world. The feelings soft as water, the ecstatic moment unreal as a dream, how can one have the heart to go back on the bridge made of magpies? If the two hearts are united forever, why do the two persons need to stay together—day after day, night after night? -- tr. Qiu Xiaolong
(Magpie Bridge
Fine clouds show their artistic faces.
Blinking stars convey their grief in space.
So wide and dim to go across the Milky Way!
Meeting once a year in autumn is surely sweeter
than numerous earthly reunions on any given day.
Their feelings are as tender as water;
their annual date is like a dream forever.
On the magpie bridge, how can they bear
to turn homeward one more time?
If mutual love will last and never die,
why need to be together day and night?
--tr. E. C. Chang)
Thank you for your profound and wonderful comment!
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