Nature

Sung to the Air: "The Mantzŭ Like an Idol"

by Li Po 701–762

Translated by Florence Ayscough and Amy Lowell (1921) · From Fir-Flower Tablets (1921)

Nature

The trees in the level forest stand in rows and rows,
The mist weaves through them.
The jade-green of the cold hillside country hurts one's heart.
Night colour drifts into the high cupola.
In the cupola, a man grieves.

I stand--stand--on the jade steps, doing nothing.
The birds are flying quickly to roost.
There is the road I should follow if I were going home.
Instead, for me, the "long" rest-houses alternate with the "short" rest-houses.

MLA

Po, Li. “Sung to the Air: "The Mantzŭ Like an Idol".” Translated by Florence Ayscough and Amy Lowell. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/li-po/122/.

Chicago

Po, Li. “Sung to the Air: "The Mantzŭ Like an Idol".” Translated by Florence Ayscough and Amy Lowell. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/li-po/122/.

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