Three Beautiful Sisters, Orphaned Young – 鱼玄机 – Yu Xuanji – Yu Hsuan Chi

We used to hear about the south, its splendid fresh appearance now it’s these eastern neighbors these sisters three up in the loft, inspecting their trousseaus reciting a verse about parrots sitting by blue-green windows embroidering phoenix garments their courtyard filled with colorful petals like red smoke, billowing unevenly their cups full of good green …

Reply to a Poem, Matching the Form – 鱼玄机 – Yu Xuanji – Yu Hsuan Chi

The blood-red bustle, the purple muddle of this human world... alone and quiet, chanting, in the midst of sunlit scenery giving up wanting a lover or hoping for literary fame conceiving a wonderful poem in the midst of a fortified village plain flowers, so simple and right I'm ashamed to express my gratitude residing secluded, …

Dreams Of The Tang Dynasty #24

#24 A Poem For My Friend Zhang Li The winds of change are always blowing. An old enemy from my official days in Chongqing Now hides on the far side of my mountain. We wonder now what all our troubles were about. He has been making wine, we drink it every day, And we talk …

Dreams Of The Tang Dynasty #23

#23 These chaotic days have turned my hair gray, My body grew old in a season, Hiding in these mountains, Penetrated to the bone by cold serenity. My body suffers, but my soul finds rest In the quiet frosty pines - Cold breath illuminated by the sunrise. I remember the greener days of my childhood, …

Dreams Of The Tang Dynasty #22

#22 Official Duty The common people care nothing for intrigue Consumed by work all their days So they can afford to pay the Emperor's taxes. Merciless officials fill their coffers to overflowing. Official duty in these restless days Fills this tired poet with shame. The Analects talk of ruling justly But where, in all the …

Dreams Of The Tang Dynasty #21

#21 There is no way, there is no balance, All the world is chaos and injustice. Tradition insists that women are darkness, And men are lightness - but tradition is wrong. She was my light- my burning flower, Without her I reside in an eternal moonless night. Losing the last remnant of any love in …

Dreams Of The Tang Dynasty #17

#17 We boil spring water to make tea, Sitting on a grassy knoll above the water. The waterfall continues as it has always done, Ten thousand years with little change. How many lovers have sat as we have, Happy and content above this spring? I'm a cautious man, But this woman's a water dragon. She …

Dreams Of The Tang Dynasty #16

#16 Dragons Scale incense fills the air, I watch her morning rituals from the bed. Two fools who found each other in this life, And yet she still finds the time to pray. Holy priestess of the mountains, Fragrant blossom of the most precarious peaks. She has been overlooked by so many men, But only …

Dreams Of The Tang Dynasty #15

#15 Unable to Breathe Because of a Letter From the Capitol In my chambers, unable to breathe, All the color has left the world. A letter arrived from Chang’An today, I’ve read it a hundred times, The characters make no sense to my eyes, An official notice of execution. The magistrate tells me it is …

Dreams of The Tang Dynasty #7

#7 Everyone in the capitol is a poet, No one in the capitol is a poet. The poetry which flickered inside me, Is buried now in an unmarked grave. I thought I saw her face on the street, But I see her face in everything. The mist creeps in over the mountains, I wish I could …

Dreams of The Tang Dynasty #6

#6 For Yu Gone now three long years My nights are long and cold without her. Executed at twenty six years of age, What cruelty to befall such beauty. Some blossoms fall from the tree when the time is right Others are cut down violently and trampled. Chang’An has become as dark as a moonless …

Dreams of The Tang Dynasty #5

#5 For Yu I sit on top of Old Pine Mountain Chanting her beautiful words. The only thing sweeter than her mouth And more intoxicating than her wine Was the sound of her voice reciting DuFu. For many years I thought The last great poetry died with Bai Juyi, But she could conquer any man …

游崇真观南楼睹新及第题名处 Visiting the South Tower of Lofty-Truth Temple, I View the Newly Inscribed Names of Imperial Graduates – 鱼玄机 Yu Xuanji

游崇真观南楼， 睹新及第题名处 云峰满目放春晴， 历历银钩指下生。 自恨罗衣掩诗句， 举头空羡榜中名。 -鱼玄机 Visiting the South Tower of Lofty-Truth Temple, I view the newly inscribed names of Imperial Graduates Cloudy summits fill my eyes this fine spring day, I catch every silver stroke beneath my fingertips. How I hate this silk dress which conceals my poetry, I raise my head in …

夏日山居 A Summer Day Living in The Mountains – 鱼玄机 Yu Xuanji

夏日山居 移得仙居此地来， 花丛自遍不曾栽。 庭前亚树张衣桁， 坐上新泉泛酒杯。 轩槛暗传深竹径， 绮罗长拥乱书堆。 闲乘画舫吟明月， 信任轻风吹却回。 鱼玄机 A Summer Day Living In The Mountains I’ve moved to this residence suitable for the gods, Wild clusters of flowers bloom all over. My gown hangs on a tree in the front courtyard; I sit beside a fresh spring floating wine cups. Beyond the pavilion's …

赋得江边柳 A Poem For The Willows By The River – 鱼玄机 Yu Xuanji

赋得江边柳 翠色连荒岸, 烟姿入远楼。 影铺秋水面, 花落钓人头。 根老藏鱼窟, 枝低系客舟。 萧萧风雨夜, 惊梦复添愁。 鱼玄机 A Poem For The Willows By The River An emerald iridescence merges with the desolate river banks, Cloudy mists dance their way into distant homes. Autumn reflections scatter out upon the surface of the river, Flowers drop down upon the heads of the fishermen. Old …

Painting – Feelings At The End Of Spring – 鱼玄机

Painting I did this week. Translation by Leonard Ng: Feelings At The End of Spring Sent To A Friend 暮春有感寄友人 The voices of orioles wake me from sad dreams; light makeup hides the tear-stains on my face. The bamboo grove is shadowy in the moon’s faint light; the River lies silent beneath the night’s thick …

Living in the Summer Mountains – Yu Xuanji

If I could travel back in time 1100 years, I would find this woman and marry her. Living in the Summer Mountains I have moved to this home of Immortals. Wild shrubs bloom everywhere. In the front garden, trees Spread their branches for clothes racks. I sit on a mat and float wine cups In …