This wind will weave The cry of howling thievesAs calming rain Unfolds on golden grain A thousand sheaves A million fallen leavesAnd still these plains Will fill with bamboo canes Copyright (c) 2016 by Frank Watson. Loosely translated from Lu Shiheng’s “花落.”
Read MoreAnchored at Jiande River
Meng Haoran This anchored boat’s astir in fog and breeze,As sunset rends my fears up once again,But as the sky descends beneath the trees,The river, moon, and quiet become my friends. Chinese Pronunciation 宿建德江 Sù jiàn dé jiāng 移舟泊煙渚， Yí zhōu …
Read MoreFor the Reminiscing General
The General went fore, a prisoner of war,Enchained at the enemy’s behest;But now he’s back, the dust is slack,With wine I greet my guest. We sing in verse of skies and birds,Forbidding a barrack word;With spring before, we leave the warAnd howls of night unheard. But peaceful …
Read MoreMiscellaneous Verse
You who’ve come and seen my hometown hueWould know the news from there, I must presume:That day you left, outside the window view,Had winter’s plums begun to wear their bloom? Chinese Pronunciation 雜詩 Zá Shī 君自故鄉來， Jūn zì gù xiāng lái， …
Read MoreYearning
Away in southern lands the red beans layAs spring returns to send its blooms above;Desiring you I pluck a big bouquet,To hold a thing that marks our tender love. Chinese 相思 紅豆生南國，春來發幾枝。願君多采擷，此物最相思。 Pronunciation Xiāng Sī Hóng dòu shēng nán guó，Chūn lái fā jī zhī。Yuàn jūn duō cǎi xié，Cǐ wù zuì xiāng …
Read MoreFarewell to a Dear Friend
Within the mountain midst, a farewell scene:I shut my door, the sun begins to set.In spring next year the grass will turn to green,But if you’ll come back here, I know not yet. Chinese 送別 山中相送罷，日暮掩柴扉。春草明年綠，王孫歸不歸。 Pronunciation Sòng Bié Shān zhōng xiāng sòng bà，Rì mù yǎn chái fēi。Chūn cǎo nián nián …
Read MoreFor a Hearty Old Man
Eighty years old with nowhere to go, Away and cold, you beg for clothes; Again and again I pity your woes As all is gone, but the wind still blows. Original Chinese poem by Bai Juyi
Read MoreSpring Worries
In spring I fear the summer’s heat, But still it comes to kill the cool. Another year, like a promise fleet, With change, and tied up time, the cruel. Disposed and weak, the blooms retreat, And though I hope, I’ve been a fool: For in …
Read MoreAt the Xinzhou Water Pavilion
At the southern edge, around a turn,The earth is filled by a sea of white;The day has passed, but I haven’t returnedFrom this gardenia trance, both scent and sight. Original Chinese poem by Zhang Hu
Read MoreSending Off My Cousin, Beyond the Castle by the Southern Moon
At home we fenced with traveling swords,Cutting at this and that like idle lords;The two of us, like towns around a turn,Will drift apart as soon as I return. Riding horses over the moon bridge south,We follow the light to the road fork’s mouth;Arriving at last …
Read More