Page:A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems (1919).djvu/99

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been validated.

A GENTLE WIND

By Fu Hsüan [died A. D. 278]

A gentle wind fans the calm night:
A bright moon shines on the high tower.
A voice whispers, but no one answers when I call:
A shadow stirs, but no one comes when I beckon,
The kitchen-man brings in a dish of lentils:
Wine is there, but I do not fill my cup.
Contentment with poverty is Fortune's best gift:
Riches and Honour are the handmaids of Disaster.
Though gold and gems by the world are sought and prized,
To me they seem no more than weeds or chaff.

[ 93 ]