Seeing Off My Elder Brother

Seeing Off My Elder Brother Lu Zhaolin (634-684/686)  You’ll travel home through frontier mountain roadsTo see the blooms and willows of Chang’än;But now it’s time we part our hands goodbye,To gaze in silent sorrow, and journey on.   Chinese 送二兄人蜀盧照鄰 關山客子路花柳帝王城此中一分手柑顧憐無聲 Pronunciation Sòng Èr Xiōng Rén ShǔLú Zhàolín Guān shān kè …

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Crossing the Yangtze River

Crossing the Yangtze River Du Shenyan (645-708)  Late afternoon, this garden grove, where ancient sorrow roams;It’s spring, but birds and blossoms too do fill the edge with dread.Alone, expelled, down south in savage lands, my homeland far—The Yangtze River water flow shows not its northern tread.   …

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At Yi River, Seeing Off a Friend

In ancient times a troubled king did send,Along this very spot, a hero bold—And though those men have drowned in time’s lost flood,These waters now are just as dark and cold.   Chinese 於易水送人駱賓王 此地別燕丹壯士發衝冠昔時人已沒今日水猶寒 Pronunciation Yú Yì Shuǐ Sòng RénLuò Bīn wáng Cǐ dì bié yān dānZhuàng shì fà …

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Anchored 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 …

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Witch’s Brew

A fern surrounds my life like a hollow mazeIn the intricate lattice of love’s first gaze;Following a pattern that guides me on this roadI reach for her lips beneath the mistletoe. My love comes forth with the apple of desire,A tangled taste that takes a life …

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