Page:The works of Li Po - Obata.djvu/122

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��62. THE LOTUS

In the deep sequestered stream the lotus grows,

Blooming fresh and fair in the morningl sun.

Its glowing petals hide the clear autumn water,

And its thick leaves spread like blue smoke.

Alas! in vain its beauty excels the world.

Who knows? Who will speak of its rare perfume?

Lo, the frost will come, chilling the air,

And its crimson must wither, its fragrance fade.

Ill it has chosen the place to plant its root.

Would it could move to the margin of a flower pond!

��An obvious metaphor, reminding one of that flower which "wastes its sweetness in the desert air." Suck poems were popular and accorded a high regard by the Chinese scholars, who relish greatly the moral mean- ings that they themselves read into the simple folk songs in the Book of Odes compiled by Confucius. Li Po has left us a few scores of these allegorical poems, and it is these that Li Yang-ping in his Preface speaks of so highly. See Appendix II.

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