A Poetess On Mercury And Venus Poem by Paul Hartal

Her pseudonym was Householder of Yi'an.
Li Ching Chao, or Li Qingzhao in pinyin,
was an eminent Chinese poet and calligrapher
who flourished in the 11th and 12th centuries
during the Song dynasty.
Her poems are refined and poignant.

While she shared many happy moments
with her husband, collecting books and artefacts,
she felt uneasy at his spending their resources
on creating a museum, instead of buying exigencies,
such as food and clothing.

In the Jin-Song wars their house was burned down
and the couple escaped to Nanjing.
Li's husband died in 1129. He was also a writer
and his wife ensured the posthumous publication
of his last volume, to which she added a chapter
of her own.

Two impact craters in the solar system are named
after her. The 61 km in diameter Li Ching Chao
is on Planet Mercury,
whereas the 22.4 km Li Qingzhao is on Venus.

Now
Here
Li
Still
Anxiously
Watches
The
Road
For
The
Return
Of
Her
Beloved.
She
Sips
her
Wine.
And
As
The
Moon
Spins
She
Undoes
Her
Hair
Slowly.