Enjoying the Moon with My Younger Cousin in the Southern Pavilion and Remembering Cui Shaofu of Shanyin

Enjoying the Moon with My Younger Cousin in the Southern Pavilion and Remembering Cui Shaofu of Shanyin

I reclined at ease in the southern study,

And opened the curtains as the moon began to rise.

Its pure light, soft and still, lay upon water and wood,

Rippling and shimmering across my window.

Slowly, again and again, it waxes and wanes—

So limpid, it transforms the present and the past.

My beloved, by the clear river's edge,

Chanted verses of Yue in sorrow on this night.

Though a thousand miles may lie between us,

A gentle breeze carries the fragrance of orchids and pollia.