The River and the Leaf
by Po Chu-i · in A Lute of Jade
Translated by L. Cranmer-Byng (1909) · From A Lute of Jade (1909)
Into the night the sounds of luting flow;
The west wind stirs amid the root-crop blue;
While envious fireflies spoil the twinkling dew,
And early wild-geese stem the dark Kin-ho.
Now great trees tell their secrets to the sky,
And hill on hill looms in the moon-clear night.
I watch one leaf upon the river light,
And in a dream go drifting down the Hwai.
This poem and this translation are in the public domain. Source text: Project Gutenberg.