Describing a Dream for Someone
I’ve known fancies turn into dreaming,
but never believed a dream could be like this:
she was fair, fair, immaculate,
4 she was pure, pure perfection,
as she sat, intimate, by hibiscus cushions,
as she turned back the joy-of-love quilt,
and her elegant footsteps were so lovely,
8 her whispered words most enchanting.
What I describe didn’t seem to happen fast,
but then, strangely, became a momentary thing,
and I woke to nothingness,
12 aware that all is empty illusion.
Translated by Anne Birrell
Wang Seng-ju was from a poor family, but he rose to the rank of censor under the Liang rulers. The name Seng may denote a formal connection with Buddhist religious life. The wit of his poem stems from his intelligent and lively use of well-known Buddhist concepts such as nothingness, dreams, and empty illusion.