Page:The poet Li Po - Waley.djvu/25

Where wailing monkeys cluster in the cliffs above.In front of the door, the tracks you once madeOne by one have been covered by green moss—Moss so thick that I cannot sweep it away,And leaves are falling in the early autumn wind.Yellow with August the pairing butterfliesIn the western garden flit from grass to grass.The sight of these wounds my heart with pain;As I sit and sorrow, my red cheeks fade.Send me a letter and let me know in timeWhen your boat will be going through the three gorges of Pa. I will come to meet you as far as ever you please,Even to the dangerous sands of Ch'ang-fēng.

Of satin-wood our boat is made,Our oars of ebony;^[1]Jade pipes and gold flutesPlay at stern and prow.A thousand gallons of red wineWe carry in the ship's hold;With girls on board at the waves' willWe are glad to drift or stay.Even the rishi^[2] had to waitFor a yellow crane to ride;But the sailor^[3] whose heart had no guileWas followed by the white gulls.Ch'ü P'ing's^[4] prose and verseHang like the sun and moon;^[5]The king of Ch'u's arbours and towersAre only hummocks in the ground.

1. A phrase from the Li Sao.
2. Tou Tzŭ-an, who was carried to Heaven by a yellow crane near Wu-ch'ang.
3. A story from Lieh Tzu.
4. I.e., Ch'ü Yüan.
5. Practically a quotation from Ch'ü Yüan's "Life," by Ssŭ-ma Ch'ien.