The 300 Tang Dynasty Poems, #36: At a Border Fortress

The Tang Dynasty was a golden age of culture in China. Poetry was especially esteemed. 300 of the best poems of that age were collected into the classic 300 Tang Dynasty Poems. An English translation of the anthology may be read by clicking here.


In the meantime, here is #36, At a Border Fortress:

AT A BORDER-FORTRESS

Cicadas complain of thin mulberry-trees
In the Eighth-month chill at the frontier pass.
Through the gate and back again, all along the road,
There is nothing anywhere but yellow reeds and grasses
And the bones of soldiers from You and from Bing
Who have buried their lives in the dusty sand.
...Let never a cavalier stir you to envy
With boasts of his horse and his horsemanship