Distich
Lions tremble at my claws;
And I at a gazelle with eyes.
From the Turkish of Sultan Selim I.
A Proverb
Before you love,
Learn to run through snow
Leaving no footprint.
From the Turkish.
Envoy in Autumn
Here are the doleful rains,
And one would say the sky is weeping
The death of the tolerable weather.
Tedium cloaks the wit like a veil of clouds
And we sit down indoors.
Now is the time for poetry coloured with summer.
Let it fall on the white paper
As ripe flowers fall from a perfect tree.
I will dip down my lips into my cup
Each time I wet my brush.
And keep my thoughts from wandering as smoke wanders,
For time escapes away from you and me
Quicker than birds.
From the Chinese of Tu Fu (712-770).