More Translations from the Chinese/Starting Early from the Ch'u-Ch'ēng Inn

by Bai Juyi

[29] STARTING EARLY FROM THE CH'U-CH'ĒNG INN

[A.D. 815]

Washed by the rain, dust and grime are laid;
Skirting the river, the road's course is flat.
The moon has risen on the last remnants of night;
The travellers' speed profits by the early cold.
In the great silence I whisper a faint song;
In the black darkness are bred sombre thoughts.
On the lotus-banks hovers a dewy breeze;
Through the rice-furrows trickles a singing stream.
At the noise of our bells a sleeping dog stirs;
At the sight of our torches a roosting bird wakes.
Dawn glimmers through the shapes of misty trees ...
For ten miles, till day at last breaks.