Dwelling apart, the star-signs changed,
hope lost, the living divided from the dead.
The last cinnamon dries in the apple jug,
old rue grows cold on the bookslips.
River winds keen, blowing wild geese,
mountain trees’ sunset glow, bearing cicades.
I shout once, my head turns a thousand times,
but Heaven is high and will not hear me.
translatedby Stephen Owen
Li Shang-Yin
Drinking Alone in a Small Garden by Li Shang-yin
Who could have knit the willow’s belts?
The flower buds are unwilling to open yet.
Only a pair of dancing butterflies are left;
Not a single person has come here.
I half unfold the dragon-whisker mat,
And lightly pour into the horse-brain cup.
Every year the arrival of spring is uncertain;
I have been deceived by the early blooming plum!
translated by James J.Y. Liu
Yüeh-yang Tower by Li Shang-yin
Wishing to disperse for once the sorrows of a lifetime,
I mount the Yüeh-yang Tower above the Tung-t’ing lake.
Over ten thousand miles I could have sailed in high spirits,
But alas, there are dragons who know how to upset the boat!
traslated by James J.Y. Liu
Night Thoughts by Li Shang-yin
A hanging screen, a half-rolled-up curtain;
The pillows are cold, the quilts still fragrant.
Why does my soul, for the sake of remembrance,
Fly in a dream across the Hsiao and the Hsiang?
translated by James J.Y. Liu
Alone beside the Autumn River by Li Shang-yin
All spring, my sorrows grew like lotus leaves.
Now they wither as my autumn sadness grows.
Grief is as long and wide as life.
Watch the autumn river. Listen to it flow.
translated by Sam Hamill
From the Heights by Li Shang-yin
I drag my heavy heart
up to these dazzling heights:
this beautiful, beautiful sunset!
And then the onrushing night.
translated by Sam Hamill
quote from Li Shang-yin
Literature endures like the universal spirit,
And its breath becomes a part of the vitals of all men.
translated by Witter Bynner & Kiang Kang-hu
Night Rains: to my Wife up North by Li Shang-yin
You ask how long before I come. Still no date set.
The night rains on Mount Pa swell the autumn pool.
When shall we, side by side, trim a candle at the West Window,
And talk back to the time of the night rains on Mount Pa?
translated by A.C. Graham
another untitled poem by Li Shang-yin
For ever hard to meet, and as hard to part.
Each flower spoils in the failing East wind.
Spring’s silkworms wind till death their heart’s threads:
The wick of the candle turns to ash before its tears dry.
Morning’s mirror’s only care, a change at her cloudy temples:
Saying over a poem in the night, does she sense the chill in the moonbeams?
Not far, from here to Fairy Hill.
Bluebird, be quick now, spy me out the road.
translated by A.C. Graham
from Untitled Love Poem II by Li Shang-yin
hearts shouldn’t try to be flowers
that just keep opening up
for every inch of longing
they make an inch of ashes.
translated by David Young
Leonard Durso 