Three-Mountain Pass
A cliff face.
Another.
And still a third.
Who was so skilled to carve this craggy scene:the cavern's red door, the ridge's narrow cleft,the black knoll bearded with little mosses?
A twisting pine bough plunges in the wind,showering a willow's leaves with glistening drops.
Gentlemen, lords, who could refuse, though wearyand shaky in his knees, to mount once more?
Note:
Maurice Durand notes that this range is almost certainly the Deo Tam Diep in central North Vietnam where the mountains are calcareous and of a blackish color but, he adds innocently, "I'on n'a pas de grotte avec une grande ouventure." While an actual landscape may have suggested this poem to Ho Xuan Huong, the particular contours--the active pine and willows--comprise a sexual landscape as well.
Pines traditionally stand for men; willows, for women.
Ho Xuan Huong
Other author posts
Swinging
Praise whoever raised these polesfor some to swing while others watch A boy pumps, then arcs his back The shapely girl shoves up her hips Four pink trousers flapping hard,two pairs of legs stretched side by side
Picking Flowers
If you want to pick flowers, you have to hike Climbing up, don't worry about your weary bones Pluck the low branches, pull down the high Enjoy alike the spent blossoms, the tight buds
Day and Night
Peekaboo we used to play;my hands covered my face,your hands covered your face,incredible, there we were gone That is what we play now, yourhands on my face and my handson your eyes Incrediblehow we disappear into each other
The Fan
Are you seventeen or eighteen (1)Let me cherish you by all means Thin or thick you display a triangle, Large or small I hold you with one hand
