Green water reflects scales of bright red;
Weeds and algae appear as clear as in a mirror.
When the fisherman rapped on his boat,
I thought it was petals falling.
translated by Yin-nan Chang
Ch’ing Dynasty
Ancient Sentiments by Wu Wei-yeh
My love is like the silk on the loom,
To be woven into a Tree of Longing.
I’m like the blossoms on your cloth coat
Which no spring wind can deflower.
translated by Irving Lo
from Chen-chou Quatrains by Wang Shih-chen: No. 1
At dawn I climb a river tower to its very highest storey,
The gentle and delicate look of departing sail is hard to bear.
The tide stretches a thousand yards below White Sands Pavilion;
Sending a homesick heart all the way back to Mo-ling.
translated by David Bryant
Remembering by Yuan Mei
The years, their months
turn, grave and slow, their
fall and spring, again.
Mountain flowers, mountain leaves and
each time’s new.
Sometimes I sit alone
and smile upon the child I was,
in memory now distant
and a friend.
translated by J.P. Seaton
Leonard Durso 