Moonlight, attributed to Pajasekhara (c. seventh century C.E.) Translated from the Sanskrit by Henry Heifetz The cat at his dish licks rays of moonlight because he thinks them milk and where they weave among the branches of trees, the elephant sees his food of white lotus stems. The woman who has just made love reaches out for the moonlight on her bed as if for her sheer dress. How the moon in his pride, drunk with his own light, confuses the currents of this world!

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