In Lukewarm Weather

The women who were girls a long time ago

Are sitting between the flower bushes

And speaking softly together:

“They pretend that we are old and have white hair;

They say also that our faces

Are not like the spring moons.

“Perhaps it is a lie;

We cannot see ourselves.

“Who will tell us for certain

That winter is not at the other side of the mirror,

Obscuring our delights

And covering our hair with frost?”

From the Chinese of Wang Ch’ang Ling (eighth century).