The Fragrance of Orchids by Yu Xuanji
The body that aches with longing
is drunk at dusk and again at dawn
these wild mutual yearnings
return to us each spring
there in the rain goes a messenger
bearing a passionate letter
under the open window
stands one with a broken heart
up in the mountains a lover
rolls up a pearl screen, looking out
sadness comes back and comes back
as fragrant and lush as the grass
and we're all walking home in the dark
from banquets and celebrations
or watching the quiet dust
that sifts down from our roofbeams
1 comment:
David Young got a bit tangled up in this one. The title is a woman's name, "Orchid." She was probably a courtesan frind of the poet. The dust knocked down from the rafters in the last line is a Classical allusion to her clear singing voice.
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