早期比翼赴幽冥，不料中途失健翎。
结发糟糠贫贱惯，陷身囹圄死生轻。
青春作伴多成鬼，白首同归我负卿。
天若有情天亦老，从来银汉隔双星。
Tr by KC Lee
Gliding side by side toward our next lives was the old plan we fixed,
Little did I expect midway to have an otherwise reliable wing clipped.
Hard more than good times since wedding did we endure,
Fearlessly facing down all those jail house threats for sure.
Deaths inevitably do most young lovers part eventually,
For not being with you upon your departure I’m so sorry.
Had the gods been sentimental they too would become much aged,
From times ancient the Milky Way has kept celestial pairs separated.
Mourning my wife Dai Naidie Yang Xianyi (1915-2009)
Tr. by YK Chan
Early on the wing of life we were destined for the underworld together,
Unexpected, midway in flight I lost you thither.
Wedded, we grew accustomed for worse more than for better,
Making light of facing imprisonment and death threats so near.
Tying the knot young, partners are often turned asunder;
I owe you the promise of growing old and homing together.
If immortals in heaven harbor sentiments they’d also grow older,
Since the Milky Way has always been the lover-stars’ splitter.
Here is my try:
We promised to die together when we wedded
Forceful facts kept us apart we did not expect
Tough life conditions we were used to endure
Even when jailed our true spirit prevail
Who dictates young lovers enjoy happiness at their own peril
For you to face execution alone I regret for being responsible
If love existed up yonder it would not be forever
From time immemorial the Milky Way has kept our legendary lovers far apart they long for each other ever
As a poet and translator in modern China, Yang yearned for his lost wife by reminiscing their difficult life-journey together, for which he felt responsible. Their early separation would also move heaven and earth. This is yet another approach to remember a loved one, which is worth comparing with the poems by Su Shi and Yuan Zhen in their “Jiangcheng Zi” and “Li Si”, respectively.