Page:The works of Li Po - Obata.djvu/128

 ��67. A PAIR OF SWALLOWS

Swallows, two by two, — always two by two. ^- A pair of swallows are an envy for man. d£?L Such a pair lived together once in a jeweled palace- & tower.


 * Jy^ Long they lived together by the gilded window with

silken curtains.

Then fire swept the royal tower.

The swallows entered the Palace of Wu and made their

nest. But once more fire burned the palace down. Burned away the swallow nest and all the younglings. Only did the mother bird escape death; she is worn

with grief. Poor lonely swallow, she longs for her mate that is

dead. Never again, can the two fly together. And that pierces my little heart with sadness.

��Another allegorical poem. A commentator says that this is a fable of Li Po's own life, he with his hopes and ambitions being compared with the mother swallow with her mate and younglings. The first palace, then, would allude to the court of Hsuan Tsung; and the second palace to that of the Prince of Yung. [102]

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