Nature

To the Air: "The Fallen Leaves and the Plaintive Cicada"

by Wu-ti of Han 157–87 BC

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

Nature

There is no rustle of silken sleeves,
Dust gathers in the Jade Courtyard.
The empty houses are cold, still, without sound.
The leaves fall and lie upon the bars of doorway after doorway.
I long for the Most Beautiful One; how can I attain my desire?
Pain bursts my heart. There is no peace.

MLA

Han, Wu-ti of. “To the Air: "The Fallen Leaves and the Plaintive Cicada".” Translated by Florence Ayscough and Amy Lowell. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/wu-ti-han/4/.

Chicago

Han, Wu-ti of. “To the Air: "The Fallen Leaves and the Plaintive Cicada".” Translated by Florence Ayscough and Amy Lowell. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/wu-ti-han/4/.

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