Voices from the T'ang

[Charles Gavette]

                   Of One In The Forbidden City
 
 When the moonlight reaching a tree by the gate,
 Shows her a quiet bird on its nest,
 She removes her jade hairpins and sits in the shadow
 And puts out a flame where a moth was flying.
                                    Zhang Hu
 
                    From An Upper Story
 
 The Silken river, bright with spring floats between earth and heaven
 Like a line of cloud by the jade Peak, between ancient days and now.
 ....Though that State is established for a while as firm as the North Star
 And bandits dare not venture from the western hills,
 Yet sorry in the twilight for the woes of a long-vanished Emperor,
 I am singing the song his Premier sang when still unestranged from the
mountain.
                            Du Fu
 
                         In Her Quiet Window
 
  
 Too young to have learned what sorrow means,
 Attired for spring, she climbs to her high chamber....
 The new green of the street-willows is wounding her heart-
 Just for a title she sent him to war.
                                    Wang Changling 
 
                     The Eight-Sided Fortress
 
 The Three Kingdoms, divided, have been bound by his greatness.
 The Eight-Sided Fortress is founded on his fame;
 Beside the changing river, it stands stony as his grief
 That he never conquered the Kingdom of Wu.
                                        Du Fu
 
                        Passing Through Huaiyin
 
 Lords of the capital, sharp, unearthly,
 The Great Flower's three points pierce through heaven.
 Clouds are parting above the Temple of the Warring Emperor,
 Rain dries on the mountain, on the Giant's Palm.
 Ranges and rivers are the strength of this western gate,
 Whence roads and trails lead downward into China.
 ....O pilgrim of fame, O seeker of profit,
 Why not remain here and lengthen your days?
                                         Cui Hao
 
                           A Poor Girl
 
 Living under a thatch roof, never waering fragrant silk,
 She longs to arrange a marriage, but how can she dare?
 Who would know her simple face the lovliest of them all
 When we choose for worldliness, not for worth?
 Her fingers embroider beyond compare,
 But she cannot vie with painted brows;
 And year after year she has sewn gold thread
 On bridal robes for other girls.
                               Qin Taoyu
 
                   A Mooring On The Qin Huai River
 
 Mist veils the cold stream, and moonlight, the sand,
 As I moor in the shadow of a river-tavern,
 Where girls, with no thought of a perished kingdom,
 Gaily echo A Song Of Courtyard Flowers.
                                   Tu Mu
 
                       There Is Only One
  
 There is only one Carved-Cloud, exquisite always,
 Yet she dreads the spring, blowing cold in the palace,
 When her husband, a knight of the Golden Tortoise,
 Will leave her sweet bed, to be early at court.
                                 Li Shangyin
 
                   A Song Of The Southern River
 
 Since I married the merchant of Qutang
 He has failed each day to keep his word....
 Had I thought how regular the tide is,
 I might rather have chosen a river-boy.
                                 Li Yi
 
                       To One Un-Named   
 
 Will your shy face peer round a moon-shaped fan,
 And your voice be heard hushing the rattle of my carriage?
                                  Li Shangyin  





_______________________________________________________
Get your free, private email at http://mail.excite.com/