The Dream Of Chuang Tzu Poem by Arthur Guiterman

The Dream Of Chuang Tzu

Rating: 3.5


In life there's naught
That's true, but Thought;
The Things we build on do but seem,
For Ear and Eye
Will cheat and lie.
The World of Sense is all a dream.

I dreamed: Air-free,
I seemed to be
A Butterfly. The fragrant bower
Was my delight;
In vagrant flight
I wavered on from bud to flower.

I had no thought
That made me aught
Than what I seemed in Nature's plan-
The Rose's guest,
The Swallow's quest.
I woke- and found myself a Man.

Yet- was I then
A Man of men
Who joined in dreams the insect clan?
Or now am I
A Butterfly
Who merely dreams that he's a Man?

Saturday, December 13, 2014
Topic(s) of this poem: butterfly
COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Fabrizio Frosini 22 July 2015

Zhuang Zhou, often known as Zhuangzi (Master Zhuang) was an influential Chinese philosopher who lived around the 4th century BC during the Warring States period, a period corresponding to the summit of Chinese philosophy, the Hundred Schools of Thought. He is credited with writing —in part or in whole— a work known by his name, the Zhuangzi, which expresses a philosophy of skepticism, arguing that life is limited and knowledge to be gained is unlimited. [from Wikipedia]

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