In the Nine Provinces there is not room enough: I want to soar high among the clouds, And, far beyond the Eight Limits of the compass, Cast my gaze across the unmeasured void. I will wear as my gown the red mists of sunrise, And as my skirt the white fringes of the clouds: My canopy--the dim lustre of Space: My chariot--six dragons mounting heavenward: And before the light of Time has shifted a pace Suddenly stand upon the World’s blue rim. The doors of Heaven swing open, The double gates shine with a red light. I roam and linger in the palace of Wēn-ch’ang,[22] I climb up to the hall of T’ai-wei.[22] The Lord God lies at his western lattice: And the lesser Spirits are together in the eastern gallery. They wash me in a bath of rainbow-spray And gird me with a belt of jasper and rubies. I wander at my ease gathering divine herbs: I bend down and touch the scented flowers. Wang-tzŭ[23] gives me drugs of long-life And Hsien-mēn[23] hands me strange potions. By the partaking of food I evade the rites of Death: My span is extended to the enjoyment of life everlasting.