Short Poems

Each spot where tulips prank their state
Has drunk the life-blood of the great;
The violets yon field which stain
Are moles of beauties Time hath slain.

I have been here in the Moon-light,
I have been here in the Day,
I have been here in the Dark Night,
And the Stream was still roaring away.

Attempt the end, and never stand to doubt;
Nothing's so hard, but search will find it out.

Though by well-warding many blowes w'ave past,
That stroke most fear'd is, which is struck the last.

Kings must not oft be seen by publike eyes;
State at a distance adds to dignities.

A face devoid of love or grace,
A hateful, hard, successful face,
A face with which a stone
Would feel as thoroughly at ease
As were they old acquaintances,—
First time together thrown.

So thickly lies the morning mist,
That I can scarcely see
The fish-nets on the river bank,
The River of Uji,
Past daybreak though it be.

God set the sun in the sky;
Out of the sun came I;
A shadow, yet I show
How long it takes a rose to grow.

The sea is flowing ever,
The land retains it never.

If thou wouldst live unruffled by care,
Let not the past torment thee e'er;
As little as possible be thou annoy'd,
And let the present be ever enjoy'd;
Ne'er let thy breast with hate be supplied,
And to God the future confide.