Embroideries
by Ssu-K’ung T’u · in A Lute of Jade
Translated by L. Cranmer-Byng (1909) · From A Lute of Jade (1909)
If rank and wealth within the mind abide,
Then gilded dust is all your yellow gold.
Kings in their fretted palaces grow old;
Youth dwells for ever at Contentment's side.
A mist cloud hanging at the river's brim,
Pink almond flowers along the purple bough,
A hut rose-girdled under moon-swept skies,
A painted bridge half-seen in shadows dim, —
These are the splendours of the poor, and thou,
O wine of spring, the vintage of the wise.
This poem and this translation are in the public domain. Source text: Project Gutenberg.