TRAVELING NORTHWARD Screech owls moan in the yellowing Mulberry trees. Field mice scurry, Preparing their holes for winter. Midnight, we cross an old battefield. The moonlight shines cold on white bones. TU FU   From One Hundred Poems From The Chinese by Kenneth Rexroth TOP

JADE FLOWER PALACE The stream swirls. The wind moans in The pines. Grey rats scurry over Broken tiles. What prince, long ago, Built this palace, standing in Ruins beside the cliffs? There are Green ghost fires in the black rooms. The shattered pavements are all Washed away. Ten thousand organ Pipes whistle and roar. The storm Scatters the red autumn leaves. His dancing girls are yellow dust. Their painted cheeks have crumbled Away. His gold chariots And courtiers are gone. Only A stone horse is left of his Glory. I sit on the grass and Start a poem, but the pathos of It overcomes me. The future Slips imperceptibly away. Who can say what the years will bring? TU FU   From One Hundred Poems From The Chinese by Kenneth Rexroth TOP

FULL MOON Isolate and full, the moon Floats over the house by the river. Into the night the cold water rushes away below the gate. The bright gold spilled on the river is never still. The brilliance of my quilt is greater than precious silk. The circle without blemish. The empty mountains without sound. The moon hangs in the vacant, wide constellations. Pine cones drop in the old garden. The senna trees bloom. The same clear glory extends for ten thousand miles. TU FU   From One Hundred Poems From The Chinese by Kenneth Rexroth TOP

STARS AND MOON ON THE RIVER The Autumn might is clear After the thunderstorm. Venus glows on the river. The Milky Way is white as snow. The dark sky is vast and deep. The Northern Crown sets in the dusk. The moon like a clear mirror Rises from the great void. When it Has climbed high in the sky, moonlit Frost glitters on the chrysanthemums. TU FU   From One Hundred Poems From The Chinese by Kenneth Rexroth TOP

NIGHT THOUGHTS WHILE TRAVELING A light breeze rustles the reeds Along the river banks. The Mast of my lonely boat soars Into the night. Stars blossom Over the vast desert of Waters. Moonlight flows on the Surging river. My poems have Made me famous but I grow Old, ill and tired, blown hither And yon; I am like a gull Lost between heaven and earth. TU FU   From One Hundred Poems From The Chinese by Kenneth Rexroth TOP

BANQUET AT THE TSO FAMILY MANOR The windy forest is checkered By the light of the setting, Waning moon. I tune the lute, Its strings are moist with dew. The brook flows in the darkness Below the flower path. The thatched Roof is crowned with constellations. As we write the candles burn short. Our wits grow sharp as swords while The wine goes round. When the poem Contest is ended, someone Sings a song of the South. And I think of my little boat, And long to be on my way. . TU FU   From One Hundred Poems From The Chinese by Kenneth Rexroth TOP

A RESTLESS NIGHT IN CAMP In the penetrating damp I sleep under the bamboos, Under the penetrating Moonlight in the wilderness. The thick dew turns to fine mist. One by one the starts go out. Only the firelies are left. Birds cry over the water. War breeds its consequences. Is is useless to worry, Wakeful while the long night goes. TU FU   From One Hundred Poems From The Chinese by Kenneth Rexroth TOP

CLEAR AFTER RAIN Autumn, cloud blades on the horizon. The west wind blows from ten thousand miles. Dawn, in the clear morning air, Farmers busy after long rain. The desert trees shed their few green leaves. The mountain pears are tiny but ripe. A Tartar flute plays by the city gate. A single wild goose climbs into the void. TU FU   From One Hundred Poems From The Chinese by Kenneth Rexroth TOP

CLEAR EVENING AFTER RAIN The sun sinks towards the horizon. The light clouds are blown away. A rainbow shines on the river. The last raindrops spatter the rocks. Cranes and herons soar in the sky. Fat bears feed along the banks. I wait here for the west wind And enjoy the crescent moon Shining through misty bamboos. TU FU   From One Hundred Poems From The Chinese by Kenneth Rexroth TOP

MOON FESTIVAL The Autumn constellations Begin to rise. The brilliant Moonlight shines on the crowds. The moon toad swims in the river And does not drown. The moon rabbit Pounds the bitter herbs of the Elixir of eternal life. His drug only makes my heart More bitter. The silver brilliance Only makes my hair more white. I know that the country is Overrun with war. The moonlight Means nothing to the soldiers Camped in the western deserts. TU FU   From One Hundred Poems From The Chinese by Kenneth Rexroth TOP

DEEP IN THE MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS Deep in the mountain wilderness Where nobody ever comes Only once in a great while Something like the sound of a far off voice, The low rays of the sun Slip through the dark forest, And gleam again on the shadowy moss. TU FU   From One Hundred Poems From The Chinese by Kenneth Rexroth TOP