PagineThe Colour of Life
by Ssu-K’ung T’u · in A Lute of Jade
Translated by L. Cranmer-Byng (1909) · From A Lute of Jade (1909)
Would that we might for ever stay
The rainbow glories of the world,
The blue of the unfathomed sea,
The rare azalea late unfurled,
The parrot of a greener spring,
The willows and the terrace line,
The stranger from the night-steeped hills,
The roselit brimming cup of wine.
Oh for a life that stretched afar,
Where no dead dust of books were rife,
Where spring sang clear from star to star;
Alas! what hope for such a life?
This poem and this translation are in the public domain. Source text: Project Gutenberg.