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

BOOK III*
DECADE OF TANG
King Seuen on the Occasion of a Great Drought
Grand shone the Milky Way on high,
With brilHant span athwart the sky,
Nor promise gave of rain.
King Seuen long gazed; then from him broke,
! ;
In anguished tones the words he spoke.
Well might he thus complain
" O Heaven, what crimes have we to own.
That death and ruin still come down?
Relentless famine fills our graves.
Pity the king who humbly craves
Our miseries never cease.
To every Spirit I have vowed
The choicest victim's blood has flowed.
As offerings I have freely paid
My store of gems and purest jade.
Hear me, and give release
" The drought consumes us. As on wing
Its fervors fly, and torment bring.
With purest mind and ceaseless care
My sacrifices I prepare.
At thine own border altars, Heaven,
And in my father's fane, I've given
What might relief have found.
What Powers above, below, have sway,
To all my precious gifts I pay.
Then bury in the ground.
Yes, every Spirit has received
Due honor, and, still unrelieved,
* [Selections from Book II. are omitted.—Editok.]
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