李冶诗
Poems of Li Ye
Index
感兴
What I'm Feeling
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朝云暮雨镇相随 去雁来人有返期 玉枕只知长下泪 银灯空照不眠时 |
Morning clouds, evening rain, frequently pass by. Geese depart, men arrive, for each a returning time. My jade pillow knows well how often I have cried. My silver lamp lights the void in my not-sleeping time. |
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仰看明月翻含意 俯眄流波欲寄词 却忆初闻凤楼曲 教人寂寞复相思 |
Looking up at a bright moon and all my feelings change. Looking down at the waves below, I want to send you this poem. But I remember the first time I heard the Phoenix Tower tune. So I can leave other men alone because all I miss is you. |
-- 李冶
废话
Historical theories are a species of insanity. Time dumps a little magpie's hoard in our lap. And we try to build a palace of explanations with it. How crazy is that? Now that I have reason to think Li Ye might have been married and because I view her with respect, each of her love poems turns into a pavane for her dead prince. Save me from my own foolishness.
This translation is unusual for me in that it came out lyrical, as in metred, with a beat, songish. This isn't something I try to do. Sometimes it just happens. It's not for me to say whether this is good or not. But I am grateful that the result cannot be sung to The Yellow Rose of Texas....