Magic Wand

The rod in my hand

is of rare woods indeed;

The wand I hold

is of wondrous power!

It was fashioned from a tree

of the fruit immortal;

It was taken from

the boughs of the Tree of Life.

The Lady Queen Mother

was lord of the garden,

The Goddess of Youth

was guard at its gates,

When this trunk was planted

in the triple heavens,

When this sapling sprouted

from the soil of the true source,

In ancient times

in the orchard of the gods,

In the Mountains of Jade

where immortals dwelt.

In its youth it stood

by the Jasper Pool,

Its growth was tended

by godly maidens.

I cut it with a golden sickle,

carved nights and days

with a knife of jade, 

and filled it at last

with force enough

 for taming tigers

and subduing dragons, 

spinning straw into gold

and turning stones into mushrooms.