 |
| A picture of Zisha Hu taken from Seven Cup. |
She pored a hot cup on her Zisha Hu,
The Fragrant oils seeping through,
The ancient purple sand Tea Pot,
Was precious to her aching heart...
The Pot was delicate of many centuries
worn through times and histories,
It sang of the Song dynasties,
Of the King's elite breweries...
Zisha Hu would clink softly as the stirrer touched the rim,
The tea sung a cascading whisper as it strolled down the brim!
Of legends it spoke, of queens and kings,
Of Love and Lust, of very old things.
Oh! the music could drown a cacophony,
Soothing, mesmerising, spellbound beauty!
Over ages it had been flooded with tea,
The flavour rich the aroma beseeched,
As you were drawn to the wistful song,
In a wink hypnotised by the sensual Oolong!
Zisha Hu is a sui generis Chinese art of a Tea Pot made by the purple sand clay of Yixing which is rich in minerals. The minerals bring out the original flavour of the tea and over the years the tea seeps into the pores enhancing the flavour of the Oolong leaves even more so each time! The tea thus had is said to be irresistibly seductive...This poem is written for a prompt by Hannah at Imaginary Garden With Real Toads!
I love tea very much and this poem makes me feel to have a cuppa right now!!
ReplyDeleteme too ... love tea... cheers to the cuppa!!
DeleteLove the cacophony, and the fact that teapots are an art.
ReplyDeleteWorry about the minerals seeping in the tea though :-)
Jo hanna the minerals don't actually seep in the tea... theyre known to make a almost double walled porous tea pot ... th tea seeps in to the pores... the more it is used the better the tea smells...
Deletei collected perfume bottles, and now i'm collecting teapots,.nice write, have a lovely Friday
ReplyDeletemuch love...
thank u gillena!! i love perfume bottles too!! :)
DeleteThank you so much for bringing this creative facet and fact of this culture to the challenge today!! So vibrant and rich in history! I had never heard of this purple clay before...how lovely it would be to try THAT tea!! :)
ReplyDeletei know.. i wish i could have the tea as well... it sounds amazing!! :)
DeleteThis does elevate tea making to an art form.
ReplyDeletewell kerry the time and care the Chinese take to make their tea... it IS an art!!
DeleteDelightful!
ReplyDelete:)
DeleteThe pot itself! I watched that ta ceremony video and was surprised at the drenching. But now I know what you speak of. It's like watering a flower or letting a petal float. I rode all the senses you awoke.
ReplyDelete(Move please, little birdie! I am not going to twit or tweet.)
its like soaking the essence of tea into the tea pot to last it forever... its a beautiful concept!! thank u susan!!
DeleteAnd yes ill get rid of the tweety now!!
Tea "of legends" singing through generations... Love the tone and the fluid trip.
ReplyDeletethank u Magaly!!
DeleteIt sang of the song dynasties…. lovely! and yes, teapots raise the bar to the artistry of drinking tea - I adore their graceful lines.
ReplyDeletethey do bring about a grace to the tea setting!! :)
DeleteThank you for sharing, Arushi. I love using dishes with a heritage. As I read it, especially this part, "... it spoke, of queens and kings, Of Love and Lust, of very old things," I was thinking of the teapot we use the most. It is a solid yellow pot with a handled lid. Mom had sent off for it from the Lipton Tea Company when they were sending them out in one of their promotions, likely involving saving labels or such first. That tea pot spoke of little old ladies playing Canasta, an afternoon church group, or us as family and guests. Plain ordinary people like us. Mom died in 1999 at age 88.
ReplyDelete..
What a very Old heirloom Jim... That must remind you of so many memories... sounds beautiful!! :)
DeleteI love the beautiful teapot - and love a cup of oolong! I enjoyed the peek back at legend and dynasty through your poem.
ReplyDeletethank u sherry!! :)
Delete