A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems/Climbing the Terrace of Kuan-yin and looking at the City

by Arthur Waley

CLIMBING THE TERRACE OF KUAN-YIN AND LOOKING AT THE CITY

Hundreds of houses, thousands of houses,— like a chessboard.
The twelve streets like a field planted with rows of cabbage.
In the distance perceptible, dim, dim — the fire of approaching dawn;
And a single row of stars lying to the west of the Five Gates.