Snow
Across the land overnight, the earth and sky have become one color,
Sunlight and shadow have swapped places.
People love falling petals, praise the six-petaled snow-flower;
I don’t care for fluttering catkins, or the time of the silkworms’ three sleeps.
Silver baubles billow just beyond upturned eaves,
Crumbs of jade spiral down in front of buildings.
Pouring a libation in the inner chamber won’t go amiss;
It is a model of holy virtue, and portends a good year.
~Yáng Xuě’é
Qing dynasty
楊雪娥
清
雪
乾坤一夕地同天
白日無端影倒懸
人愛落花誇六出
我懀飛絮又三眠
銀裝裊裊飛檐外
玉屑霏霏繞座前
酹酒深閨無別祝
先爲聖德兆豐年
Footnote: "three sleeps": Silkworm caterpillars were said to molt three times as they grew. They stay still for a few days before molting, so that was referred to as their three sleeps. Silkworms hatch in late spring and grow through the summertime.
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