Love Songs of Asia

Do not believe that ink is always black,
     or lime white, or lemon sour;
You cannot ring one bell from two pagodas,
You cannot have two governors for the city of Lang Son.

I found you binding an orange spray
     of flowers with white flowers; 
I never noticed the flower gathering
     of other village ladies.
Would you like me to go and see your father and mother?

                                                      Song of Annam

This is one of my favorite books of poetry.  It is a book of sensuous, passionate love songs and poems from Afghanistan, Persia, Vietnam translated, I believe,  by a young British official posted in Afghanistan during World War I.  His name was E Powys Mathers.  I found this book in the Duxbury library years ago.  I recently remembered it and ordered it online.