Page:More Translations from the Chinese (Waley).djvu/22

 Or amid orchises and sandal-trees Shall walk in the dark woods. O Soul come back and live for these delights!

Peacocks shall fill your gardens; you shall rear The roc and phœnix, and red jungle-fowl, Whose cry at dawn assembles river storks To join the play of cranes and ibises; Where the wild-swan all day Pursues the glint of idle king-fishers. O Soul come back to watch the birds in flight!

He who has found such manifold delights Shall feel his cheeks aglow And the blood-spirit dancing through his limbs. Stay with me, Soul, and share The span of days that happiness will bring; See sons and grandsons serving at the Court Ennobled and enriched. O Soul come back and bring prosperity To house and stock!

The roads that lead to Ch'u Shall teem with travellers as thick as clouds, A thousand miles away. For the Five Orders of Nobility Shall summon sages to assist the King And with godlike discrimination choose The wise in council; by their aid to probe The hidden discontents of humble men And help the lonely poor. O Soul come back and end what we began! [18]