The Jade Mountain/A Cicada

by Li Shangyin

A CICADA

Pure of heart and therefore hungry,All night long you have sung in vain—Oh, this final broken indrawn breathAmong the green indifferent trees!Yes, I have gone like a piece of driftwood,I have let my garden fill with weeds. . . .I bless you for your true adviceTo live as pure a life as yours.

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