Ho Nansorhon. Spring.

100 Poets, 100 Poems

In the courtyard a shower of peach petals piles deep;
Wandering orioles cry out on a magnolia tree near the fence.
Through tasseled silk curtains the spring cold seeps in;
From the censer a list of burning incense gently curls.
A beautiful girl woken from sleep makes up her face anew;
Fine girdle of fragrant silk, patterned with ducks.
She rolls up a thick blind, revealing the Kingfisher curtain;
Unhurried, she plays the phoenix song on her silver zither.
Where has her Lord gone on his gold engraved saddle?
A friendly parrot chatters at the window, a butterfly sports

in the grasses, then flits along the Garden Path.
Dancing among the flowers, gossamers outside the door,
Sounds of flutes and song from a neighbor's house;
The moon shines on a golden cup of fine wine.
At night she is quite alone and unable to sleep;
At dawn she wakes, tears soaking the shagreen silk.

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A small island encircled by formidable oceans, Sri Lanka is a mystery to many: remote, hard to place; a well-kept secret. The Ceylon Press seeks to make its complicated story more accessible. The Press publishes a range of podcasts including The History Of Sri Lanka; the off-grid Jungle Diaries podcast; Island Stories, the podcast that explores what makes Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan; Archaeologies, the blank verse diaries of an occasional hermit; as well as Poetry from The Jungles’ two podcasts, 101 Poets; and 100 Poet, 100 Poems. All these, along with eBooks, dictionaries, guides and companions can be found at www.theceylonpress.com, based at The Flame Tree Estate & Hotel in the jungle west of Kandy .