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”.
For a moment when you held me fast in your outstretched arms
I thought the river stood still and did not flow.
