I wish I were close
To you as the wet skirt of
A salt girl to her body.
I think of you always.
Suma no ama no
Shio yaki ginu no
Narenaba ka
Hito hi mo kimi wo
Wasurete omowamu
translated by Kenneth Rexroth
longing
Jade Steps Pliant by Hsieh T’iao
Palace at dusk, the pearl blind is lowered,
Drifting fireflies glide and come to rest;
Through the long night I sew a fine silk jacket–
My thoughts of you, when will they end?
translated by Ronald C. Miao
In Imitation of Hsü Kan (“Since You Went Away”) by Liu Chün
Since you went away
Gold and green hairpins have lost their glint.
My longing thoughts of you, like sun and moon,
Circling round and round, rise day and night.
translated by Jan W. Walls
untitled Chinese poem 2 by anonymous poet
I cross the river to pluck hibiscus,
In the orchid marsh, many scented plants.
I pluck, but whom should I give them to?
For my love resides in a distant land.
Turning my head, I look toward home,
Along that vast and endless road.
Our hearts are one, yet we dwell apart,
Worrying and grieving till we grow old.
translated by Dell R. Hales
untitled Chinese poem 1 by anonymous poet
Going on always on and on
alive, but parted from you
gone ten thousand miles and more
each to a far edge of the sky
the road is hard and long
with nothing sure about meeting again
Tartar horses lean to the northern wind
Viet birds nest on southern boughs
days advance, the parting grows long
days advance, the sash grows loose
floating clouds hide the bright sun
the wanderer can think of no return
loving you I became old
suddenly the time is late–
enough I speak no more
try hard to stay well
translated by Charles Hartman
from Deva-like Barbarian, Five Lyrics: Lyric Five by Wei Chunang
Spring is bright and splendid in the city of Lo-yang;
But the man of Lo-yang grows old in another land.
The willows darken on the Prince of Wei’s embankment;
At this time I am confused and bewildered.
Alongside the blossoming peach, the spring waters run clear;
Mandarin ducks bathe in their freshness.
My regret gathers force in the setting sun;
I think of you, but you do not know it.
translated by Lois M. Fusek
A Sigh From A Staircase Of Jade by Li Po (Li Bai)
Her jade-white staircase is cold with dew;
Her silk soles are wet, she lingered there so long. . .
Behind her closed casement, why is she still waiting,
Watching through its crystal pane the glow of the autumn moon?
translated by Witter Bynner & Kiang Kang-hu
from The Book of Songs: untitled poem 2
The two of you went off in a boat,
Floating, floating far away.
Longingly I think of you;
My heart within is sore.
The two of you went off in a boat,
Floating, floating you sped away.
Longingly I think of you.
Oh may you come to no harm!
translated by Arthur Waley
untitled poem by Lady Akazome Emon
I should not have waited.
It would have been better
To have slept and dreamed,
Than to have watched night pass,
And this slow moon sink.
translated by Kenneth Rexroth
from Feng-ya Song by Tu Fu
How long before I’ve grown feathers and wings
and settled beside you at the end of flight?
translated by David Hinton
Leonard Durso 