A drop of dew on an autumn lotus leaf,
In a clear night it falls from the dark heavens.
On this jade plate it comes to rest;
Only because it’s unsettled, we know it to be round.
translated by Irving Y. Lo
Chinese poet
Summer Night by Han Wo
Wild wind, chaotic lightning–black clouds are born.
Splashing, splashing in tall woods–the sound of dense rain.
Night wears on, rain lets up–wind, too, is settled.
Torn clouds–a floating moon once more slants down its light.
translated by Edward H. Schafer
New Moon by Tu Fu
The bright, thin, new moon appears,
Tıpped askew in the heavens.
It no sooner shines over
The ruined fortress than the
Evening clouds overwhelm it.
The Milky Way shines unchanging
Over the freezing mountains
Of the border. White frost covers
The garden. The chrysanthemums
Clot and freeze in the night.
translated by Kenneth Rexroth
Full Moon by Tu Fu
Isolate and full, the moon
Floats over the house by the river.
Into the night the cold water rushes away beyond the gate.
The bright gold spilled on the river is never still.
The brilliance of my quilt is greater than precious silk.
The circle without blemish.
The empty mountain without sound.
The moon hangs in the vacant, wide constellations.
Pine cones drop in the old garden.
The senna trees bloom.
The same clear glory extends for ten thousand miles.
translated by Kenneth Rexroth
Begonia by Su Shih
The East Wind gently spreads her celestial glow
the moon slips behind her veil of perfumed mist
afraid this flower won’t stay up much longer
I light a tall candle to view her crimson face
translated by Red Pine
To A Traveler by Su Tung P’o
Last year when I accompanied you
As far as the Yang Chou Gate,
The snow was flying, like white willow cotton.
This year, Spring has come again,
And the willow cotton is like snow.
But you have not come back.
Alone before the open window,
I raise my wine cup to the shining moon.
The wind, moist with evening dew,
Blows the gauze curtains.
Maybe Chang-O the moon goddess,
Will pity this single swallow
And join us together with a cord of light
That reaches beneath the painted eaves of your home.
translated by Kenneth Rexroth
Moon, Flowers, Man by Su Tung P’o
I raise my cup and invite
The moon to come down from the
Sky. I hope she will accept
Me. I raise my cup and ask
The branches, heavy with flowers,
To drink with me. I wish them
Long life and promise never
To pick them. In company
With the moon and the flowers,
I get drunk, and none of us
Ever worries about good
Or bad. How many people
Can comprehend our joy? I
Have wine and moon and flowers.
Who else do I want for drinking companions?
translated by Kenneth Rexroth
Snow Storm by Tu Fu
Tumult, weeping, many new ghosts.
Heartbroken, aging, alone, I sing
To myself. Ragged mist settles
In the spreading dusk. Snow skurries
In the coiling wind. The wineglass
Is spilled. The bottle is empty.
The fire has gone out in the stove.
Everywhere men speak in whispers.
I brood on the uselessness of letters.
translated by Kenneth Rexroth
Clear After Rain by Tu Fu
Autumn, cloud blades on the horizon.
The west wind blows from ten thıousand miles.
Dawn, in the early morning air,
Farmers busy after a long rain.
The desert trees shed their few good leaves.
The mountain pears are tiny but ripe.
A tartar flute plays by the city gate.
A single wild goose climbs into the void.
translated by Kenneth Rexroth
Passing by a Mountain Village: Evening by Chang Yu
For several miles I have heard the chill waters,
Homes in the mountain, no one else around–
Strange birds scream over the broad plain;
The setting sun puts fear into the traveler’s heart.
A new moon before the twilight’s gone,
Beacons of war never come this far–
There in the gloom beyond the mulberries
Are home fires to which I gradually draw closer.
translated by Stephen Owen
Leonard Durso 