Late Autumn Sentiment(Sū Mù Zhē) Poem by Perdita Young (Hanna Wang)

Tune: Tune: "Screened by Southern Curtain"

苏幕遮 秋叹

晦蒙天，淫雨溅。湿叶无依，点雨添秋怨。寒鸟不飞鸦落单。坐卧歔欷，观雨舟楼晚。 暗消魂，思故伴。追忆春阳，笑语盈盈暖。明月高楼嗟不断。愁思纷纷，欲理却还乱。

Free Verse Translation:

Dark and blurred is the sky,
Spatter, splash and sprinkle,
Endless is the rain in sight.
Wet leaves seem lonely and desolate,
Rain drops adding to the complaint.

Birds are wet-winged and cold,
No longer active or bold,
A crow screeching on the spot.

Sigh after sigh, ill at ease
Whatever posture adopt I;
I watch the dripping at dusk
From a boat window high.

Overwhelmed with grief, with
old friends far and separated, I
reminisce about the golden days,
the warmth, laughter and cheers past.

Alas, the bright moon and the beautiful scenes
Have become never-mores, no longer near,
With disordered worries tangled, incapable
Of tidying, what else can I do but sigh and shed tears?
-

A Random Translation:

Dark and gloomy is the low and curtained sky,
With raindrops spattering and splashing just nearby.
Tree leaves, about to fall, are wet and desolate,
All these sights add to the season's complaint.

The wet-winged birds, cold and unable to fly,
Lonely and pitiable are they, just as I.
A black crow screeches on the scene,
The wind rustles its way autumn serene.

Sigh after sigh, whether sober or asleep am I,
Recalling days when old friends were by my side.
Why is it, that the golden days rarely stay long?
Overwhelmed with grief, I stared at the rain dripping on.

Alas, where are the bright moon and beautiful scenes,
They seem to be never-mores, gone with the wind.
No-mores are they, the warmth, cheers and laughter,
Upon this, who can refrain the feeling desperate?

My sentiments thus become even more tangled,
Tears streaming down like thread, flood my eyes.
They quickly obscure everything, in an instant,
And at last, everything is out of sight, out of mind.

Nov.6th,2008.