I HOW delightful, at sunset, to loosen the boat! A light wind is slow to raise waves. Deep in the bamboo grove, the guests linger; The lotus-flowers are pure and bright in the cool evening air. The young nobles stir the ice-water; The Beautiful Ones wash the lotus-roots, whose fibers are like silk threads. A layer of clouds above our heads is black. It will certainly rain, which impels me to write this poem. II The rain comes, soaking the mats upon which we are sitting. A hurrying wind strikes the bow of the boat. The rose-red rouge of the ladies from Yueh is wet; The Yen beauties are anxious about their kingfisher-eyebrows. We throw out a rope and draw in to the sloping bank. We tie the boat to the willow-trees. We roll up the curtains and watch the floating wave-flowers. Our return is different from out setting out. The wind whistles and blows in great gusts. By the time we reach the shore, it seems as though the Fifth Month were Autumn. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...AFTER TWO YEARS by RICHARD ALDINGTON ETERNITY BLUES by HAYDEN CARRUTH BONNYBELL: THE GRAY SPHEX by EDGAR LEE MASTERS CHARLOTTE CORDAY (REVOLUTIONARY TRIBUNAL, JULY 17, 1793) by EDGAR LEE MASTERS THE STORY OF THE ASHES AND THE FLAME by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON |