History & Politics

Songs of the Marches (II)

by Li Po 701–762

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

History & Politics

Horses!
Horses!
Swift as the three dogs' wind!
Whips stinging the clear air like the sharp calling of birds,
They ride across the camel-back bridge
Over the river Wei.
They bend the bows,
Curving them away from the moon which shines behind them
Over their own country of Han.
They fasten feathers on their arrows
To destroy the immense arrogance of the foe.
Now the regiments are divided
And scattered like the five-pointed stars,
Sea mist envelops the deserted camp,
The task is accomplished,
And the portrait of Ho P'iao Yao
Hangs magnificently in the Lin Pavilion.

MLA

Po, Li. “Songs of the Marches (II).” Translated by Florence Ayscough and Amy Lowell. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/li-po/38/.

Chicago

Po, Li. “Songs of the Marches (II).” Translated by Florence Ayscough and Amy Lowell. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/li-po/38/.

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