The song of “Yang Pass” and the river flowing east
lanterns on Chingyang Mountain and this little boat
and me I’m as drunk as I have ever been
the moon on the rippling river sighs on my behalf
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Chinese poet
Crabapple by Su Tung-p’o
The wafting east wind and rays of sublime light
as the moon crossed the porch perfume filled the air
worried the night was late and flowers about to sleep
I held up a candle to see her red dress
translated by Red Pine
Returning to Linkao at Night by Su Tung-p’o
Drunk tonight at East Slope sobered up then drank again
it was after midnight when I finally made it home
the houseboy was asleep and snoring like thunder
I knocked on the gate but nobody answered
leaning on my cane I listened to the river
Long have I regretted this life I don’t control
will I ever stop running errands
with night about to end and a night wind on the water
I’m leaving in my sampan
to spend my last years on the river
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Spring Dawn by Meng Hao-jan
Sleeping in spring oblivious of dawn
everywhere I hear birds
after the wind and rain last night
I wonder how many petals fell
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Poem Composed on Horseback and Sent to Tzu-you after Parting at the West Gate of Chengchou on the Nineteenth Day of the Eleventh Month by Su Tung-p’o
Why do I feel drunk without drinking
my heart is following your saddle horse
your thoughts are already with our father
but how shall I deal with this loneliness of mine
climbing above the ramparts between us
all I see is your bobbing black hat
the weather is so cold and your robe so thin
and you’re riding that nag beneath a waning moon
“On the road people sing at home they’re happy”
offered my attendant seeing me so sad
of course I know life is full of partings
what bothers me is how fast it’s passing
remember when we faced that sputtering lamp
listening to the wind that rain-filled night
that is something I know you won’t forget
don’t fall in love with a government career
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Seeing Off a Friend by Hsueh T’ao
There’s frost on the reeds tonight in this riverine world
the mountains look dreary in the cold moonlight
who says the miles between us begin this very night
my goodbye dream goes with you beyond the farthest passes
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Written in Late Spring at Our Newly Rented Nang West Thatch Hut by Tu Fu
A traveler in the Gorges I keep sighing
encountering late spring yet again
I wish the blackbirds would be quiet
how long can these flowers last
diaphanous clouds in deserted valleys
fading sunlight on surging waves
I wonder if the war will ever end
but that isn’t what hurts my heart
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Night Rain, Sent North by Li Shang-yin
You ask when I’ll return but when doesn’t have a date
the rain tonight in the hills of Pa floods the autumn lakes
when will we trim candlewicks by the west window again
and talk about when it rained in the hills of Pa this night
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Impromptu by Su Tung-p’o
Poor Tung-p’o is a sick old man
his white hair flutters like snow in the wind
his son mistakenly smiles to see his face so rosy
I laugh how could he know the red is from the wine
translated by Red Pine
from Songs from the Heart by Juan Chi: No. 1
Late at night unable to sleep
I sit up and played my zither
moonlight shone through the curtains
a cool breeze ruffled my robe
in the distant wilds a lone goose cried
above the north woods a circling bird called
this way then that searching for something
while anxious thoughts troubled my heart
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Leonard Durso 