To the songs I sing the moon
flickers
her beams;
In the dance I weave my shadow tangles and breaks.
In the dance I weave my shadow tangles and breaks.
Li Po
GOING DOWN CHUNG-NAN MOUNTAIN AND SPENDING THE NIGHT DRINKING
WITH THE HERMIT TOU-SS?
At dusk we left the blue mountain-head;
The mountain-moon followed our homeward steps.
We looked round: the path by which we had come
Was a dark cleft across the shoulder of the hill.
Hand in hand we reached the walls of the farm;
A young boy opened the wicker-gate.
Through green bamboos a deep road ran
Where dark creepers brushed our coats as we passed.
We were glad at last to come to a place of rest,
With wine enough to drink together to our fill,
Long I sang to the tune of the Pine-tree Wind;
When the song was over, the River-stars[46] were few.
_I_ was drunk and you happy at my side;
Till mingled joy drove the World from our hearts.
[46] Stars of the Milky Way.
XXIII. 3. DRINKING ALONE BY MOONLIGHT
A cup of wine, under the flowering-trees: (1)
I drink alone, for no friend is near.
Raising my cup, I beckon the bright moon,
For he, with my shadow, will make three men.
The moon, alas! is no drinker of wine:
Listless, my shadow creeps about at my side.
Yet with the moon as friend and the shadow as slave
I must make merry before the Spring is spent.
To the songs I sing the moon flickers her beams;
In the dance I weave my shadow tangles and breaks.
While we were sober, three shared the fun;
Now we are drunk, each goes his way.
May we long share our odd, inanimate feast,
And meet at last on the Cloudy River of the Sky. [47]
[47] The Milky Way.
In the third month the town of Hsien-yang (2)
Is thick-spread with a carpet of fallen flowers.
Who in Spring can bear to grieve alone?
Who, sober, look on sights like these?
Riches and Poverty, long or short life,
By the Maker of Things are portioned and disposed.
But a cup of wine levels life and death
And a thousand things obstinately hard to prove.
When I am drunk, I lose Heaven and Earth;
Motionless, I cleave to my lonely bed.
At last I forget that I exist at all,
And at _that_ moment my joy is great indeed.
If High Heaven had no love for wine, (3)
There would not be a Wine Star in the sky.
If Earth herself had no love for wine,
There would not be a city called Wine Springs. [48]
Since Heaven and Earth both love wine,
I can love wine, without shame before God.
Clear wine was once called "a Saint;"
Thick wine was once called "a Sage. "[49]
Of Saint and Sage I have long quaffed deep,
What need for me to study spirits and _hsien_?
WITH THE HERMIT TOU-SS?
At dusk we left the blue mountain-head;
The mountain-moon followed our homeward steps.
We looked round: the path by which we had come
Was a dark cleft across the shoulder of the hill.
Hand in hand we reached the walls of the farm;
A young boy opened the wicker-gate.
Through green bamboos a deep road ran
Where dark creepers brushed our coats as we passed.
We were glad at last to come to a place of rest,
With wine enough to drink together to our fill,
Long I sang to the tune of the Pine-tree Wind;
When the song was over, the River-stars[46] were few.
_I_ was drunk and you happy at my side;
Till mingled joy drove the World from our hearts.
[46] Stars of the Milky Way.
XXIII. 3. DRINKING ALONE BY MOONLIGHT
A cup of wine, under the flowering-trees: (1)
I drink alone, for no friend is near.
Raising my cup, I beckon the bright moon,
For he, with my shadow, will make three men.
The moon, alas! is no drinker of wine:
Listless, my shadow creeps about at my side.
Yet with the moon as friend and the shadow as slave
I must make merry before the Spring is spent.
To the songs I sing the moon flickers her beams;
In the dance I weave my shadow tangles and breaks.
While we were sober, three shared the fun;
Now we are drunk, each goes his way.
May we long share our odd, inanimate feast,
And meet at last on the Cloudy River of the Sky. [47]
[47] The Milky Way.
In the third month the town of Hsien-yang (2)
Is thick-spread with a carpet of fallen flowers.
Who in Spring can bear to grieve alone?
Who, sober, look on sights like these?
Riches and Poverty, long or short life,
By the Maker of Things are portioned and disposed.
But a cup of wine levels life and death
And a thousand things obstinately hard to prove.
When I am drunk, I lose Heaven and Earth;
Motionless, I cleave to my lonely bed.
At last I forget that I exist at all,
And at _that_ moment my joy is great indeed.
If High Heaven had no love for wine, (3)
There would not be a Wine Star in the sky.
If Earth herself had no love for wine,
There would not be a city called Wine Springs. [48]
Since Heaven and Earth both love wine,
I can love wine, without shame before God.
Clear wine was once called "a Saint;"
Thick wine was once called "a Sage. "[49]
Of Saint and Sage I have long quaffed deep,
What need for me to study spirits and _hsien_?
