AFTER LI PO

In a gentle silent pond

A jade pavilion stands;

Close by its door, among the fronds,

A bridge bows to the land.

And in the chamber sit

Three friends who drink warm tea;

They chat, and now and then they twit,

They chuckle when they disagree.

And in the gentle pond

A fish jumps at a fly.

The fly must stomach the affront.

No choice, the thing must die.

So still, so polished is the pond!

The house and bridge peep upside down,

And upside down the friends so fond,

The figured cups, the silken gowns.

But right side up and nothing else

The fish jumps at the fly.

The story which this story tells

No roguish mirror turns awry.