WHEN A BEGGAR BEHOLDS YOU...Anonymous (c. 324 A.D.) Translated by Gertrude L. Joerissen
When the breeze inflates your two robes of silk
you look like a Goddess enveloped in clouds.
When you pass, the flowers of the mulberry tree
drink in your perfume. When you carry the lilacs
that you have gathered, they tremble with joy.
Bands of gold encircle you ankles, stones of blue
gleam in your girdle. A bird of jade has made its
nest in your hair. The roses of your cheeks mirror
themselves in the great pearls of your collar.
When you look at me I see the river Yuen flowing.
When you speak to me I hear the music of the
wind among the pines of my own country.
When a horseman meets yo at dusk he thinks
it is already dawn, adn brutally he brings his
horse to a standstill.
...When a beggar beholds you,
he forgets his hunger.
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The muse for this ancient poem must have been exquisite in the eyes of her suitor. I wonder what she looked like. I wonder if they loved each other for all time.
