From ‘Chinese Love Lyrics’ by The Peter Pauper Press

Watching the Moon
CHIANG CHE-KIN
My beloved knows
That I watch thee, O moon,
And when they beams caress her,
Our separation is less cruel.

- GERTRUDE L. JOERISSEN




Thinking of a Friend
YANG KI
It is going to rain …
The wind bruises the flowers of my jasmine
And whirls away the petals of the peonies,
Scattering them over the ground.
It lifts the blinds at the windows.
It ruffles the young girls’ hair.

I am sad. I think of my friend.
The blue sky, the green sea, and the
White mountains separate us.
Ah, if those birds could carry to my friend
The letters which I write to her!
If this little stream could carry to her
The petals from my peonies!

The magnolias gleam in the shadows …
But I cannot touch my lute.
I watch the moon, which is like a
Great magnolia blossom.

I will not sing. I will not play.
I want to give myself entirely to my sadness.

- GERTRUDE L. JOERISSEN




Tip-Toeing to Her Lover
PRINCE LI YU
The flowers bright, the moon dim,
And a light mist eddying about …
Tonight is meant for me to go to my love.
Off with my stockings;
I walk down the fragrant steps …
With my gold-lined slippers in hand.

At the south side of the Painted Hall
We meet; I fall trembling in his arms and say:
“Because it was so hard to come to you,
Let me have your very best caress.”

- CH’U TA KAO



For Her Birthday
FENG YEN-CHI

A feast being spread in spring-time,
With a cup of green wine and a
Joyous song, I repeat my salutation and
Offer my three wishes:
First, may you have a long life; second,
May I have good health; third, may we live
As the swallows on the beam,
Happily together all the year round

- CH’U TA KAO