My Humble Abode
Dwelling in a serene environment is my habitual liking
Carefree in quietude is enjoyment knowing not days passing
Washed by rain the spider net is clean and bright
Every spring swallows return to their homestead right
I often invite neighbors to share bamboo beauties
Calling my wife to brew cups of tea finest
Calendar dates and clock hours not in my interest sphere
In solitude I sit waiting for the moon to appear
凌波不過橫塘路 但目送 芳塵去 錦瑟華年誰與度 月橋花院 瑣窗朱戶 只有春知處
飛雲冉冉蘅皋暮 彩筆新題斷腸句 試問閒愁都幾許 一川煙草 滿城風絮 梅子黃時雨
Tune: Green Jade Desk He Zhu (1052-1125) 江紹倫譯
Will your ripple-like steps ever come this way again
My eyes followed the fragrant dusts raised by your passing
With whom will you spend your youthful years in delight
On moonlit bridges and flower-filled courts
Inside blinded windows and crimson door
A dwelling known only to spring
When fleeting clouds fly past the green plain at dusk
I wave my brush once again to write heart-broken verses
Asked how deep and wide my lovesickness is
Misty river banks where grass thrive
All o’er town catkins carried by wind fly
Pattering drizzles urging plums to ripe