一剪梅

李清照

红藕香残玉簟秋，
轻解罗裳，独上兰舟。
云中谁寄锦书来？
雁字回时，月满西楼。

花自飘零水自流，
一种相思，两处闲愁。
此情无计可消除，
才下眉头，却上心头。

Key: I Chien Mei
Li Ch’ing-chao

Lotus flowers fade as fall is felt on the bamboo mat.
Gently taking off the silk coat;
Lonesomely embarking the orchid boat.

Who’s to send me love letters from the cloud or mist?
When it’s time that one person returnest,
Full moon shall fill my chamber with joy amidst.

Let the flowers wither and water by itself drift,
For love, there is only one sort,
But sorrow has made two places its resort.

’Tis all in vain trying to dispel this sentiment:
No sooner was it loosened from the brows,
Than up to my heart a new one grows.
（王季文 译）

To the Melody

Li Qingzhao

The fragrant red lotuses have withered away,
My jade-like mat turns cool on autumn day.
Lightly putting off my skirt or silky coat,
Alone I boarded on the pretty boat.
Looking back, the wild geese fly,
Who’s to send me a letter through clouds’ sky?
My west chamber window’s full of moonlight.

Flowers drift alone out of the smell,
The creek running alone is natural.
There’s one kind of lovesickness,
Coming from two places with sadness.
No way could cure such a sickness,
Just falling down from my eyebrows,
into my heart with sorrows.
（朱曼华 译）

To the Tune of
A Spray of Flowering Plum
Li Ch’ing-chao

Falling fragrance of pink lotus,
jade-green reeds of autumn.

Gently I unfasten my robe of sheer silk,
And step aboard the orchid boat all by myself.
Who will bring me embroidered letters from the clouds? *
When the wild geese return,
The west balcony is flooded with moonlight.

Flower petals drifting, water flowing,
One and the same longing
Makes two hearts sad with yearning.
There is no way to dissipate this grief:
As the brow ceases frowning,
The heart begins aching.

* During the 2nd century B.C., Su Wu, when he was a captive of the Hsiung Nu, conveyed his loyalty to the Han Emperor by tying a letter to the foot of a wild goose. In time, the expression “the wild goose brings letter from the clouds” has become a customary usage in referring to the delivery of any letter or message.