Wednesday, February 29, 2012

water dragon leapyear


The old man from Shao-ling,
weeping inwardly,
Slips out by stealth in Spring
and walks by Serpentine,
 

And on its riverside
sees the locked Palaces,
Young willows and new reeds
all green for nobody;
 

Where Rainbow Banners once
went through South Gardens,
Gardens and all therein
with merry faces:
 

Where limpid River Wei's
waters flow Eastward,
One goes, the other stays
 and has no tidings:
 

Though Pity, all our hours,
weeping remembers,
These waters and these flowers
remain as ever;

[selected verses from "Lament by the Riverside" by Tu Fu (A.D. 712-770) Translated by Arthur Cooper, 1973]

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