Page:The works of Li Po - Obata.djvu/183

 109. AT THE CELL OF AN ABSENT =?

MOUNTAIN PRIEST

��By a stony wall I enter the Red Valley.

The pine-tree gate is choked up with green moss;

There are bird-marks on the deserted steps,

But none to open the door of the priest's cell.

I peer through the window and see his white brush

Hung on the wall and covered with dust.

Disappointed, I sigh in vain;

I would go, but loiter wistfully about.

Sweet scented clouds are wafted along the mountainside,

And a rain of flowers falls from the sky.

Here I may taste the bliss of solitude

And listen to the plaint of blue monkeys.

Ah, what tranquility reigns over this ground!

What isolation from all things of the world!

��The white brush is carried by the priest as a symbol of purity and cleanliness.

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