Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE COCK-FIGHT, by TS'AO CHIH First Line: Our wandering eyes are sated with the dancer's skill Last Line: "then I shall not leave without winning the match!" Alternate Author Name(s): Tzu-chien Subject(s): China - Middle Ages (600 B.c.- 618 A.d.); Cock-fighting | ||||||||
OUR wandering eyes are sated with the dancer's skill, Our ears are weary with the sound of "kung" and "shang." Our host is silent and sits doing nothing: All the guests go on to places of amusement. On long benches the sportsmen sit ranged Round a cleared room, watching the fighting-cocks. The gallant birds are all in battle-trim: They raise their tails and flap defiantly. Their beating wings stir the calm air: Their angry eyes gleam with a red light. Where their beaks have struck, the fine feathers are scattered: With their strong talons they wound again and again. Their long cries enter the blue clouds; Their flapping wings tirelessly beat and throb. "Pray God the lamp-oil lasts a little longer, Then I shall not leave without winning the match!" | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE COMBAT OF THE COCKS by THOMAS RANDOLPH SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: REV. LEMUEL WILEY by EDGAR LEE MASTERS AT SUNSET TIME by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR THE LIGHT OF OTHER DAYS by THOMAS MOORE DRINKING SONG, FR. THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL by RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN A DRINKING SONG by WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS TO A FRIEND by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD THE SIDEWALKS OF NEW YORK by JAMES W. BLAKE THE SONG OF WILLI by MATHILDE BLIND |
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