Spring Rain (Li Shangyin)

Spring Rain (Li Shangyin)

Spring Rain

by Li Shangyin

Lying in melancholy repose in spring, wearing my white linen coat,

The White Gate is desolate—my heart's wishes go unfulfilled.

Beyond the red mansion, I gaze through the rain, feeling the cold;

Pearl curtains and drifting lanterns—I return alone.

The distant road must mourn the fading of spring's twilight;

In the waning night, I still catch a faint, fading dream.

How shall my jade pendant and sealed letter ever reach you?

Ten thousand miles of cloud-woven nets—a single wild goose flies.