Chinese and Arabian Literature - E. Wilson - The Search For Mecca

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THE SHI-KING
—
On ant-hills screamed cranes with delight;
In their rooms were our wives sighing sore.
Onr homes they had swept and made tight :
All at once we arrived at the door.
The bitter gourds hanging are seen,
From branches of chestnut-trees high.
Three years of toil away we had been,
Since such a sight greeted the eye.
To the hills of the East we went,
And long had we there to remain.
When the word of recall was sent.
Thick and fast came the drizzling rain.
With its wings now here, and now there,
Is the oriole sporting in flight.
Those brides to their husbands repair.
Their steeds red and bay, flecked with white.
Each mother has fitted each sash;
Their equipments are full and complete;
But fresh unions, whatever their dash.
Can ne'er with reunions compete.
There is a Proper Way for Doing Everything
In hewing an axe-shaft, how must you act?
Another axe take, or you'll never succeed.
In taking a wife, be sure 'tis a fact,
That with no go-between you never can speed.
In hewing an axe-shaft, hewing a shaft,
For a copy you have the axe in your hand.
In choosing a wife, you follow the craft,
And forthwith on the mats the feast-vessels stand.