Li Bai (Tang Dynasty)
In childhood days, the moon unknown to me,
I called it a white jade plate for all to see;
Or fancied it a mirror from the fairy land,
Drifting high amid the blue clouds so grand.
The immortal dangles both his feet below;
How lush and round the cassia branches grow!
The white hare pounds the elixir of grace;
For whom is it made in that lonely space?
The toad devours the glowing orb in blight;
The great radiance fades into shadowed night.
Hou Yi once shot nine burning suns away,
Leaving heaven and mortals in calm array.
Now this lunar essence falls into deep dismay;
In grief and sorrow, what can one say?
My heart is rent with bitter melancholy today.
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