Blue tail-feathers and markings of gold on a pair of mandarin ducks,
And tiny ripples of water stirring the blue of a pond in spring;
Beside the pond there stands a crabapple tree,
Its branches filled with pink after the rain
Her figured sleeve covers a dimpled smile
As a flying butterfly lights on the mistlike grass.
Her window gives on all this loveliness —
And news so seldom comes from the Jade Pass!