Stella Benson

“ At this point the smoke of the joss-sticks veils the face of Kwan-yin. A woman's voice sings:
Wherefore remember tears?
Shall tears be dried by remembrance?
[Pg 7]
This voice is apparently not heard by the priests and acolytes.
First and third priests chant:
Ah, Kwan-yin, mother of love,
Remember
Those in pain,
Those who are held fast in pain of their own or another's seeking.
Those for whom the world is too difficult
And too beautiful to bear,
All:
Kwan-yin, remember, remember.
First and third priests:
Those who are blind, who shall never read the writing upon the fierce rivers. ”

“ First and second priests—tenor and bass—chant:
The world is very full of battle;
The speared and plumed forests in their ranks besiege the mountains;
[Pg 6] The flooded fields like scimitars lie between the breasts of the mountains.
The mists ride on bugling winds down the mountains.
Shall not Kwan-yin bear a sword?
Third priest—tenor—chants:
Kwan-yin is no warrior. ”

“ Of hills ... the secret twisted hands of trees?
Shall not the moon & the stars redeem lost hopes?
What fairer gifts shall Mercy bring than these?
For, in the end, when our beseeching clamor
Dies with our bells; when fear devours our words ”