Purple Heart

By Sebastian Song Zhitian

Part of the meaning of life is to remember
It is often the pain that is constantly remembered
The hope is that pain will no longer be a sign of hurt
Rather, it is the strength and memory of life's existence

Bright moon, bamboo forest and butterflies ......
Traditional Chinese imagery will reveal a beautiful landscape painting
A place where the heart and soul of man can dwell
The vibrations of life will be calmed or resonate strongly

Poetry, fiction, essays ......
The diversity of genres will present a world of pure thought
The words here will have the power to soothe the heart
Unshackle your heart and face your true self

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Singapore
• Release date: Jan 3, 2023
• ISBN: 9781543772524

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Copyright © 2023 by Sebastian Song Zhitian.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

www.partridgepublishing.com/singapore

CONTENTS

Foreword

SEASON 1:   I’M IN

A Faint Song from the Faraway

When a Drizzle Is Coming Down

Drops of Time

At Ease

Silence

Warming Years

When I Laugh

Great Time

Chasing the Setting Sun

Whispers of June

To a Piece of Winter’s Soul

The Eternity of Light

No Longer

Narcissus

Snow

Hear the Sound of Spring Rain Again

Fairy Tale

Begonia Reminiscence

Young Man

Telling

June

Summer Retrospect

I Stand in the Rain with a Distant Place in My Heart

The Last Ginkgo Leaf Has Fallen

If

The Tranquility Belonging to Me

I Went Out Alone in the Morning

I Still Have One More Day

SEASON 2:   THE SCENE IN

Prelude to the Breeze

City of Mist

The Land

Autumn

Half Li of Peach Blossoms

Dandelion in the Evening Breeze

She Is

Towards the Autumn

Wheat

In the Deep Mountains

Autumn and the Earth

River in the Night

I Look at the Starry Sky in a Lonely City

Magpie

What a Joyful Night

Smoky Forest

Wild Cypress

It Was a Rain in the South

The Garden

The Sea

August in Bloom

In the Snow

SEASON 3:   THINK IN

Reminiscence

Spring’s Daughter, Dream Fairy

Sunflower

Grace

Swan

Lyric to Youth

The Persistence of Moonlight

That Is the Song of Youth

Wandering

Paper Boat

The Finale of Summer

A Phoenix

The Song to North Wind

The Grey Bird and the Wind

Tribute to the Dark Night

Self Statement

Monologue

I Am in the Café

Muffled

Shackles

To Bury

I

Wallowed in Self-Pity

The Autumn Wind Has Passed

Luckily, We Live Only Once

Endless Love

Silhouette

Acknowledgement

May We Walk into Our Graves Hand in Hand

I Am the Sole Master on the Moss

APPENDIX

I.   Red Roof

II.   The Soul Selects Her Own Society

III.   Living in This Precious World

IV.   The Banquet in the Mid-Autumn Night

V.   A Lush and Moonlit Night

FOREWORD

Deep within the heart lies a cavern that cannot be reached by solitary words, emotion, or sincerity. It is no simple task to discover our innermost self and perceive the song reverberating in the artery of our collective heartbeat. It is a lifelong journey and one where we seek wisdom to guide us. Poetry is the sage that paves our path, and poets are those who reveal it.

Sebastian Song is a poet who does more than follow life’s path. He lives and breathes it, so much so that his poetry serves as a bridge to lift us over still waters and into the tides of change.

To read his work is an invitation to join him in appreciating the universe for its stars, its roses, and even its darkness. Le Petit Prince opened his insights as a young man, and contemplating ‘le grand monde’ is shaping him as a poet who sees the stars shine on more than one shore.

Though I initially greeted Song on his path as his teacher, coming to his writing is like coming to know the works of Virginia Woolf—it awes then inspires, then becomes a source of action to do and be more. Song’s immense candor, wonder, and sincerity about exploring the universe transcend the words on the page.

The language that informs Song’s style is as powerful as it is complex and weaves a strong bond with the past by using a modern voice.

This volume begins from his earliest perspective as a youth. Each early poem’s cadence and vocabulary rises with the grace of nature and understanding of its greatest beauty: love, renewal, and an awed connection to ancient ancestors. But as the seasons of his life changed, and his own experiences began belonging to the past, so too did he evolve. Summer never lasts; winter must come. Bittersweet moments are revered and understood with equal acceptance and careful language understanding as joyous ones. But in tremendous skill and sagacity, Song allows the reader to put themselves in his place, rooting us as the flower and benefiting from