Venice masks

Friday, 8 July 2022

The Stone Dog - Le Thanh-tong

With a heavy paw he guards the frontier,
Squatting alone in the middle of the pass,
Paying no heed to the snow or frost,
Never asking for good food or payment.
Staring straight at the visitors’ faces,
He is above listening to their gossiping tongues.
With one mind he serves his lord.
A thousand-weight strong, he cannot be swayed.

Le Thanh-tong (1442-1497) Vietnam
Translated by Nguyen Ngoc Bich and Burton Raffel

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