人生到處知何似    應似飛鴻踏雪泥
泥上偶然留指爪    鴻飛哪復計東西

老僧已死成新塔    壞壁無由見舊題
往日崎嶇還計否    路長人困蹇驢嘶

A Duet with My Younger Brother on the Good Old Days        tr By S L Kong

Who could fore-see how life goes settling hither and wither
It would be like a migrant goose running on snow-wet ground to take flight
If by chance on the cold muddy ground a trace is left so bright
Would the flight-bound bird venture to note its whereabouts so it may later titter

Gone is our good friend the monk now replaced by a dagoba among many
The poems we wrote on the temple wall are seen no more with the decay if left with any
You may recall the arduous journeys we had made together
They were so distant and weary even our donkey brayed half way to say it would not bother

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朝辞白帝彩云间
千里江陵一日还
两岸猿声啼不住
轻舟已过万重山
 
Leaving Bai Di Chun at Dawn             tr. By S L Kong (Class of 1953)

I left at dawn the castle town of Bai Di beneath colourful clouds
To sail round one thousand li of waters and canyons in a day
While monkeys on shore said adieus aloud
Their sad cries vanished as my skiff passed mountains away

紅豆生南國   春來發幾枝
願君多采擷   此物最相思

Yearning                      江紹倫  譯

Red berries thrive in the southern plain
They load down trees every spring
Do gather them to fill your fold
They fortify loving memories to hold

白日依山盡 黃河入海流
欲窮千里目 更上一層樓

Ascending the Heron Tower             江紹倫  譯

The white sun diminishes o’er the mountain top
The ocean-bound Yellow River flows non-stop
To see a grandeur view a thousand li from here
One more flight up the tower it will be near

人閒桂花落 夜靜春山空
月出驚山鳥 時鳴春澗中

A Dale Where Birds Sing                 江紹倫  譯

Folks enjoy their respite when sweet osmanthus fall
Spring hills become empty on quiet nightfall
A sudden moonshine could awake birds in the bare hill
Their fitful twitters will keep a spring dale filled

渭城朝雨浥輕塵   客舍青青柳色新
勸君更盡一杯酒   西出陽關無故人

To a Departing Ambassador             江紹倫  譯

This quiet little town Wei is clean washed by morning rain
Young willows by the tavern lodge are bright and green
Do down this cup of wine with me once and again
West of the Sun Pass no more friends will be seen

日日人空老 年年春更歸
相歡在樽酒 不用惜飛花

Farewell to Spring                 江紹倫  譯

Day after day we all grow old
But spring returns every year we know
Let’s enjoy togetherness o’er a bottle of wine
And not feel sad seeing fallen petals fly