Poem of the week: Song by 'Tzŭ-Yeh', translated by Arthur Waley

A flirtatious fourth-century confession of a young woman’s passion is vivid, sharp and sensual

At the time when blossoms
Fall from the cherry-tree:
On a day when yellow birds
Hovered in the branches -
You said you must stop,
Because your horse was tired:
I said I must go,
Because my silkworms were hungry.

All night I could not sleep
Because of the moonlight on my bed.
I kept on hearing a voice calling:
Out of Nowhere, Nothing answered “yes”.

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