A Poet Looks At The Moon

I hear a woman singing in my garden,
But I look at the moon in spite of her.

I have no thought of trying to find the singer
Singing in my garden;
I am looking at the moon.

And I think the moon is honouring me
With a long silver look.

I blink
As bats fly black across the ray;
But when I raise my head the silver look
Is still upon me.

The moon delights to make eyes of poets her mirror,
And poets are many as dragon scales
On the moonlit sea.

From the Chinese of Chang Jo Hsu.

Edward Powys Mathers

Edward Powys Mathers was an English translator and poet, best known for translating the French Orientalist J.C. Mardrus's translation of 'The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night' in 1923. In addition to translations, Powys Mathers was an influential figure in the realm of cryptic crosswords, devising some of the most challenging puzzles for 'The Observer'. His translations have been lauded for their literary beauty and for introducing English-speaking audiences to classic Persian, Arabic, and Turkish poetry.

Edward Powys Mathers

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Distich

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Grief And The Sleeve

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Values

Edward Powys Mathers, Simple Poetry

English

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"Late, late yestreen I saw the new moone
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Once I could hail (howe'er serene the sky)
The Moon re-entering her monthly round,
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While gazing on the moon's light,
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The day had sunk in dim showers,
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Wanderer! that stoop'st so low, and com'st so near
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What pleasure once encompassed those sweet names
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Abates the perils of a stormy night;
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