Standing silently alone

Running rest-day ...

... amongst my relatively large poetry collection, I've got quite a few Chinese Poetry volumes, and this poem is from one of my favourites: "Bai Juyi: 200 Selected Poems" (as pictured, it's a 1983 Rewi Alley translated volume).


The Crane

People pursue the things
they like; things
don't change, but people's feelings do;
some say a crane can dance
quite well, but for me,
no dance it does can equal
its grace while standing
silently alone.

---

You can read a bit more about Bai Juyi here.