Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, BALLADE OF THE CHINESE LOVER, by STUART MERRILL


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

BALLADE OF THE CHINESE LOVER, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Down the waves of the yang-tse-kiang
Last Line: From han-yang, woo-hoo to far tchin-ting.
Subject(s): China


Down the waves of the Yang-tse-Kiang,
In a gilded barge with saffron sails,
I wooed my Li to the brazen clang
Of kettledrums, and the weary wails
Of flutes, whilst under her spangled veils
She should sway her willowy waist, and sing
Sweet songs that made me dream of the dales
Of Han-Yang, Woo-hoo and far Tchin-Ting.

Past the porcelain towers of Keou-Kang,
And its peach blooms, loud with nightingales,
We drifted fast, as the dim gongs rang,
Toward the horizon's purple pales.
Hark! our hoarse pilot once more hails
The anchored junks, as they swerve and swing,
Laden with silk and balsam bales
From Han-Hang, Woo-hoo and far Tchin-Ting.

Of nights, when the hour had come to hang
Our paper lamps to their bamboo rails,
And afar we heard the silvery twang
Of lutes from the tea fleet's moonlit trails,
Then, oh my Li of the jasper nails,
As on the shore swooned the winds of spring,
I lay at thy feet and told thee tales,
Of Han-Yang, Woo-hoo and far Tchin-Ting.

Envoy

Loved Princess, ere my fantasy fails,
Farewell, and I'll make thy praises ring
O'er the Flowery Kingdom's fields and swales,
From Han-Yang, Woo-hoo to far Tchin-Ting.






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