Deep lane, poor families; I have few friends.
He stayed behind only in my dream.
Fragrant silk scents the breeze: whose party?
A song comes carried in the wind: from where?
Drums in the street wake me at dawn.
In the courtyard, magpies mourn a spoiled spring.
How do we get the life we want?
I am a loosed boat floating a thousand miles.
translated by Geoffrey Waters
9th Century Chinese poetry
Boudoir Lament by Yü Hsüan-chi
With a handful of weeds I weep in the slanting sun
To hear a neighbor’s husband coming home.
When you left, the first southern swans were flying north.
This morning northern geese go south.
Spring comes, fall goes, love stays.
Fall goes, spring comes, messages are rare.
My scarlet door is closed, he doesn’t knock;
Only the sound of washboards through silk curtains.
translated by Geoffrey Waters
Staying in the Mountains in Summer by Yü Hsüan-chi
I’ve moved here to the Immortal’s place:
Flowers everywhere we didn’t plant before.
The courtyard trees are bent like clothes-horses.
At the feast, winecups float in a new spring.
Dark balcony. Path through deep bamboo.
Long summer dress. Confusion of books.
I sing in the moonlight and ride a painted boat,
Trusting the wind to blow me home again.
translated by Geoffrey Waters
At Scholar Tuan Chiu’s Place Reading Lines in a Letter from Our Deceased Friend, Lu of Hengchou by Liu Tsung-yüan
My friendship with Lu was the dearest of my life
when he arrived in Hengyang his body multiplied
suddenly from your sleeve some lines of his appeared
seeing my old friend I had to wipe the tears
translated by Red Pine
The Hat Given to the Poet by Li Chen by Po Chü-i
Long ago a white-haired gentleman
You made the present of a black gauze hat.
The gauze hat still sits on my head;
But you already are gone to the Nether Springs.
The thing is old, but still fit to wear;
The man is gone and will never be seen again.
Out on the hill the moon is shining to-night
And the trees on your tomb are swayed by the autumn wind.
translated by Arthur Waley
River-Snow by Liu Tsung-yüan
A hundred mountains and no bird,
A thousand paths without a footprint;
A little boat, a bamboo cloak,
An old man fishing in the cold river-snow.
translated by Witter Bynner & Kiang Kang-hu
Written at the First Sign of White Hair about the Pomegranate I Planted by Liu Tsung-yüan
It’s been a few years since I planted this sweet thing
my cheeks aren’t the same as its blooms anymore
henceforth I won’t speak of spring anymore
looking at this old bush then this old man
translated by Red Pine
Presented to a Lady Within the Palace by Chang Yu
Forbidden gate, palace trees, a moon’s flitting trace,
seductive eyes gaze askance at night-nesting egrets.
Leaning, she plucks her jade hairpin in the lamplight,
Pricks apart the ruddy flame to save a flying moth.
translated by Ronald C. Miao
Viewing Mountains with His Reverence Hao Ch’u To My Friends and Relatives in the Capital by Liu Tsung-yüan
The coastal mountains are as sharp as swords;
When autumn comes each cleaves my sore heart.
If my body could be dissolved into a thousand selves,
I’d have them scattered on the highest peaks to gaze homeward.
translated by Jan W. Walls
Feeling Old Age by Liu Tsung-yüan
I’ve always known that old age would arrive,
and suddenly now I witness its encroach.
This year, luckily, I’ve not weakened much
but gradually it comes to seek me out.
Teeth scattered, hair grown short,
To run or hurry, I haven’t the strength.
So, I cry, what’s to be done!
And yet, why should I suffer?
P’eng-tsu and Lao Tzu no more exist;
Chuang Tzu and K’ung Tzu too are gone.
Of those whom the ancients called “immortal saints”
not one is left today.
I only wish for fine wine
and friends who will often help me pour.
Now that spring is drawing to a close
and peach and plum produce abundant shade
and the sun lights up the azure sky
and far, far, the homeward goose cries,
I step outside, greeting those I love,
and climb to the western woods with the aid of my staff.
Singing out loud is enough to cheer me up;
the ancient hymns have overtones.
translated by Jan W. Walls
Leonard Durso 