A Poem Translation

The Flowering Tree
By Xi Murong

So that we could meet
At the height of my beauty

For this
I prayed to Buddha for 500 years
I pleaded that we might meet in this life
And so he made me a tree
Growing by the way you would take

In the sunlight
Carefully blooming
Each petal my past life's desire

When you come by
Please carefully listen
To the quivering leaves
It is my yearning passion

And when you finally go
Without even a glimpse
My friend
Upon the ground behind you
Are not fallen petals but the fragments of my heart

A Love Poem

Penned to one Courtney Swanson-Mellich:

Oh comely maiden
Fine and fair
A splendid jewel
How precious rare

Bubbly eyes
And lustrous hair
Your legs so smooth
Do you use Nair?

Like fire's her gaze
And ice her glare
At my heart strings
You gently tear

The misty air
Or a fragrant pear
Could ne'er compare
To the love we share