Such beauty even in the Halls of T'sin
As on this fateful night was seldom seen,—
A lustrous moon in fleecy clouds it shines!
A splendid flower amidst the foliage green!
How fair the groups of revellers—fair the scene!
But pleasures such as these must pass away!
How keen the raptures of those fleeting hours!
What of the burdens of the coming day?
[41] This poem probably refers to the revelries of the Court at the end of the T'sin Dynasty 300-200 b.c., before it was overthrown by the founder of the Han Dynasty.
A Lowly Flower
BY BAY SIE T'IAO
T'ang Dynasty
A flowering grass I rise
From the side of a far-spread lake,
Whose waters lave and fertilize,
And all my thirsty tissues slake.
The dews of Spring with gentle power
Evolve my glossy emerald leaves;
The colours of my fragrant flower
The rime of early Autumn weaves.
And yet in trembling fear I grow,
Lest root and stem should be uptorn
By sudden storm or rushing flow,
And leave me helpless and forlorn.