To cling it is said is more toxic yet c ̈P ̈ ̈P ̈Ä有)要
And, of course, unnecessary 1 ;^無)要
To sift unnecessary 1 x
To be sifted also unnecessary ò耗在 1 y鑰匙
Open-mindedness unnecessary 根
æÄ有)要
Transcendence unnecessary 門 æk著
Demons, good and bad, all unnecessary Q æk著
The Buddha plucking a flower and
smiling unnecessary
A short life
Spent looking for the key
Entirely unnecessary
The door let it hang open
The clouds let them float by
(Luo 2002: 83–87)
Luo Fu never ceases to surprise as a poet. A zen-like awareness of
the pointlessness of life’s struggles emerges in this poem. It is the
source of his longevity as a poet and his following in Taiwan and
China. Yet throughout the ceaseless changes run several threads: Luo
Fu has been unflagging in his search to articulate the self in China
through poetry as well as to bring the tragedy of the century into con-
sciousness through art. He has sought to transcend the limitations
imposed by history in the search for the freedom to be, to exist beyond
the bounds of history, to live in the moment. Luo Fu’s is a unique
vision.
84 John Balcom