Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

KUANYIN'S FLASK by HELEN BURWELL CHAPIN

First Line: THE FIRE HAS LONG SINCE COOLED
Last Line: THE NECTAR OF IMMORTALITY.
Subject(s): BUDDHISM; CHINA; KUAN YIN (GODDESS); BUDDHA; BUDDHISTS;
The fire has long since cooled
In the kilns at Ting-chou,
But the Eternal Potter
Has fashioned a perfect piece of Ting-yao.
From the pallid bark of the eucalyptus,
From the stardrift in the Milky Way,
From the moon's white fire,
From the night-shining pearl
That draws the mighty dragon
Up out of the whirls of mist
To soar the Empyrean,
He has taken the essence
And made a body fit indeed to hold
The nectar of immortality.



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