The Cranes – Bai Juyi

The western wind has blown but a few days;
Yet the first leaf already flies from the bough.
On the drying paths I walk in my thin shoes;
In the first cold, I have donned my quilted coat.
Through shallow ditches the floods are clearing away;
Through sparse bamboo trickles a slanting light.
In the early dusk, down an alley of green moss,
The garden-boy is leading the cranes home.

Spring Visit – Bai Juyi

Remnants of sun ribbon the river–
half and half, black river red.
The third night, ninth month lovely hour;
pearled dew, bent bow moon.

Resignation – Bai Juyi

Don’t think of the past;
It only awakens painful regrets.
Don’t think of the future;
It paralyzes with uncertain longings.
Better by day to sit like a sack in your chair;
Better by night to lie like a stone in your bed.
When food comes-open your mouth.
When sleeping comes-shut your eyes.

Spring Visit – Bai Juyi

Remnants of sun ribbon the river–
half and half, black river red.
Third night, ninth month lovely hour;
pearled dew, bent bow moon.

A Foresaken Garden – Bai Juyi

I enter the court
Through the middle gate—
And my sleeve is wet with tears.

The flowers still grow
In the courtyard,
Though two springs have fled
Since last their master came.

The windows, porch, and bamboo screen
Are just as they always were,
But at the entrance to the house
Someone is missing—
You!

After Lunch – Bai Juyi

After eating lunch, I feel so sleepy.
Waking later, I sip two bowls of tea,

then notice shadows aslant, the sun
already low in the southwest again.

Joyful people resent fleeting days.
Sad ones can’t bear the slow yers.

It’s those with no joy and no sorrow—
they trust whatever this life brings.

The Philosopher – Bai Juyi

“Those who speak know nothing;
Those who know are silent.”
These words, as I am told,
Were spoken by Lao Tzu.
If we are to believe that Lao Ttzu
Was himself one who knew,
How comes it that he wrote a book
Of five thousand words?

Song Of The Palace – Bai Juyi

Tears utmost gauze cloth dream not succeed
Night deep before palace press song sound
Red cheek not old favour first cut
Slant lean on smoke cover sit arrive brightness
Her handkerchief all soaked in tears, she cannot dream,
In deepest night before the palace voices sing.
Her rosy cheeks aren’t old, but first love has been cut,
Leaning, wreathed in smoke, she sits until the dawn.

Night Snow – Bai Juyi

Startled at the cold stiffness of my pillow,
I see that the window is a sheet of pure white.
Deep in the night, the weight of snow increases
Until I hear bamboo snapping in the darkness.

Sleeping on Horseback – Bai Juyi

We had rode long and were still far from the inn;
My eyes grew dim; for a moment I fell asleep.

Under my right arm the whip still dangled;

In my left hand the reins for an instant slackened.

Suddenly I woke and turned to question my groom:

‘We have gone a hundred paces since you fell asleep.’

Body and spirit for a while had exchanged place;

Swift and slow had turned to their contraries.

For these few steps that my horse had carried me

Had taken in my dream countless aeons of time!

True indeed is that saying of Wise Men

‘A hundred years are but a moment of sleep.’ 

Resignation – Bai Juyi

Don’t think of the past;
It only awakens painful regrets.

Don’t think of the future;

It paralyzes with uncertain longings.

Better by day to sit like a sack in your chair;

Better by night to lie like a stone in your bed.

When food comes-open your mouth.

When sleep comes-shut your eyes. 

Spring Sleep – Bai Juyi

dy smooth and steady
Sunshine room door cloth not open

Still have young spring air taste

Often brief arrive sleep at come 

The pillow’s low, the quilt is warm, the body smooth and peaceful,

Sun shines on the door of the room, the curtain not yet open.

Still the youthful taste of spring remains in the air,

Often it will come to you even in your sleep. 

Keep Waiting – Bai Juyi

White billows and huge waves block the river crossing;
Wherever I go, danger and difficulty; whatever I do, failure.

Just as in my worldly career I wander and lose the road,

So when I come to the river crossing, I am stopped by contrary winds.

Of fishes and prawns sodden in the rain, the smell fills my nostrils;

With the stings of insects that come with the fog, my whole body is sore.

I am growing old, time flies, and my short span runs out,

While I sit in a boat at Chiu-k’ou, wasting ten day

Winter Night – Bai Juyi

My house is poor; those that I love have left me;
My body is sick; I cannot join the feast.

There is not a living soul before my eyes

As I lie alone locked in my cottage room.

My broken lamp burns with a feeble flame;

My tattered curtains are crooked and do not meet.

‘Tsek, tsek’ on the door-step and window-sill

Again I hear the new snow fall.

As I grow older, gradually I sleep less;

I wake at midnight and sit up straight in bed.

If I had not learned the ‘art of sitting and forgetting,’

How could I bear this utter loneliness?

Stiff and stark my body cleaves to the earth;

Unimpeded my soul yields to Change.

So has it been for four hateful years,

Through one thousand and three hundred nights!