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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


A GENTLE WIND by FU HSUAN

First Line: A GENTLE WIND FANS THE CALM NIGHT
Last Line: TO ME THEY SEEM NO MORE THAN WEEDS OR CHAFF.
Subject(s): CHINA - MIDDLE AGES (600 B.C.- 618 A.D.); WIND;

A GENTLE wind fans the calm night:
A bright moon shines on the high tower.
A voice whispers, but no one answers when I call:
A shadow stirs, but no one comes when I beckon,
The kitchen-man brings in a dish of lentils:
Wine is there, but I do not fill my cup.
Contentment with poverty is Fortune's best gift:
Riches and Honour are the handmaids of Disaster.
Though gold and gems by the world are sought and prized,
To me they seem no more than weeds or chaff.



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