Petit Orchestra by Li Chevalier

Petit Orchestra

Dreaming of Peking Opera, 
one plays her moon-shaped lute,
another her flute made from a hollow 
bone of the red-crowned crane.
The third—dreaming of her spirit
rising—plays her zither, jeopardizing 
all childhood games for the moment.
Too innocent to play such heartfelt 
music, Ch’ang-O herself, who fled 
to the moon for refuge, must be 
inspiring them.




 

Solo by Li Chevalier





For the Moon Alone

Sadder than the sound of bamboo sobbing		
in autumn wind, sadder than scudding
clouds obscuring the full moon, sadder 
than a lost lover, than an old anguish that 
lingers, than the smell of autumn decay, the 
cricket’s chirp weakening by the day, the first 
frost of the season, withering chrysanthemums—
the soloist’s music and song.

Playing her silk-stringed sanxian,		
she transforms her grey surroundings into
Shangri-la.  Playing for the moon alone—
vermilion strings quivering as autumn’s
wind sends crimson leaves to the ground.