Fifty Dragons For Shen Lung
Dragon Amid Waves
Soga Shōhaku (Japan, 1730 - 1781) - LACMA Collections
Authored by A. S. Kline © Copyright 1999 All Rights Reserved.
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1.
Keeping his counsel
in the green jade
that dragon who knows so much about us.
2.
This clear night, brightest of moons.
is it true we are parted
only by the Dragon of the Milky Way ?
3.
Your sleepy head
Shen Lung watches
with one eye closed.
4.
At daylight you leave
the dragon in sheets of cloud,
wearied from gathering dew.
5.
Through clear water
see the coiled dragon.
Asleep at last that snake of jealousy.
6.
Visible like dragon veins,
the deep love that does not speak.
7.
Suddenly hearing a voice
from the dragon boat.
wi11 you ever know her true name ?
8.
Over all the summer sky
red scales of the dragon.
9.
In the white porcelain
one sign for "blue" and "dragon'
10.
What Shen Lung sees and knows
he can never tell.
11.
Like a dragon in the clouds
thinking of her
fondly in a dream.
12.
Trust your sleep
to this pillow.
One dragon riding
on a curtain of mist.
13.
What did we find
beyond the mountain
dragon rain, dragon clouds ?
14.
Gone in a moment
the Dragon of a Thousand Years.
15.
The white wake of the dragon
is this passing world.
16.
Beauty that shakes the whole body.
The breath of the dragon.
17.
0 Lady of the Jade Mountain
ride the rising dragon vortex.
18.
In the East the green dragon.
In the North the 'dark warrior'.
19.
Feng-shui is 'wind and water'.
Not to disturb the sleeping dragon.
20.
Coiled around the vase
Is this only a painted dragon ?
21.
Carried through seven heavens,
seeing you in a dream.
22.
Floating clouds conceal his shape.
Misted thought, dims
the neglected mirror.
23.
Plum-flowers drift in the dark bed,
Moon-shadows deepen in the fragrant pool.
24.
Over the energies
of the heavens
flies the true dragon.
25.
Alone again what have I ?
The dragon's wake,
the dragon's track.
26.
Again and again
I think of you
free like the white cloud,
silent like the pale water.
27.
Northern winds savour of winter.
The white fall is cold with spray
28.
Behind that mountain
lives the dragon,
mysterious in its dark valley.
29.
This waning moon
has lost its splendour.
Shen Lung will breathe new life again.
30.
You do not need
to dream of me.
Only accept
this silent friend.
31.
In the silence of the night
one dragon gazes at the Moon.
32.
Those who talk do not know,
Shen Lung knows
but does not speak.
33.
What do the white clouds
know about sadness ?
What do the dark waters
know about love ?
34.
This helpless heart
turned inside out
by the dawn wind.
35.
The jade congealed
in the morning
shows where the dragon passed.
36.
Waited and yearned
in the dragon silence.
37.
It was for you
the dragon came.
38.
Mask of snow
and fragrance of flowers.
Mist on the dawn tree.
39.
Was it the dragon only
stirred the tangled heart ?
40.
Did I choose you ?
Did you choose me ?
Dreaming each other
we both awoke.
41.
Nothing is lost.
The dragon found
its own image
in the clouds.
42.
Fragrant with the scent
of shallow water
this bowl filled
with the beauty of plum-flowers.
43.
Too far off to see him.
At last the clear dragon.
44.
Who is she ?
Who am I ?
A deep longing
confuses the mind.
45.
All night through
the bright dragon
tossing and turning
in the clouds.
46.
At the great dragon
gaze all your life.
When the dawn comes
bring me your perfume.
47.
See the dragon
touch the moon
white fire
across his scales.
48.
Like smoke, like water,
these thoughts and dreams.
49.
Dim in the new light
the vanishing dragon.
50.
After these words
see the real Shen Lung.