Only yesterday you returned
among docile people
with a wholly new dynamic, a philosophy
of life,
and today, high above the Forbidden City,
you are seeking a slender old man in a hermitage
who inducted you long ago
in the secrets of happiness – extinguishing
desires. He spoke in a quiet voice,
but least of all about human Love,
and you, raised on the world’s most beautiful fairytales,
wished to know its secret. But
he was silent. He did not tell you
about the handful of elect
who are listed in the magical Book of Fates,
as he was loath to deprive you
of your dreams.
English Translation: John Minahane