Page:A history of Chinese literature - Giles.djvu/379

 The night-jar now has ceased to mourn,

the dawn comes on apace, I seize my hoe and close the gates,

leaving the burying-p lace ; But not till sunbeams fleck the wall

does slumber soothe my care^ The cold rain pattering on the pane

as I lie shivering there. You wonder that with flowing tears

my youthful cheek is wet; They partly rise from angry thoughts^

and partly from regret. Regret that spring comes suddenly;

anger // cannot last. No sound to herald its approach,

or warn us that 'tis past. Last slight within the garden

sad songs were faintly heard, Sung, as I knew, by spirits,

spirits of flower and bird. We cannot keep them here with us,

these much-loved birds andflowers y They sing but for a seasons space,

and bloom a few short hours. Ah! would that I on feathered wing

might soar aloft and fly, With flower spirits I would seek

the confines of the sky. But high in air What grave is there ? l No, give me an embroidered bag

wherein to lay their charms, And Mother Earth, pure Mother Earth,

shall hide them in her arms. Thus those sweet forms which spotless came

shall spotless go again, Nor pass besmirched with mud and filth

along some noisome drain.

��These two lines are short in the original.

�� �