槿花 / Hibiscus, Two Poems

BY Li Shangyin
TRANSLATED BY Chloe Garcia Roberts
Chinese

（一） / 燕体伤风力，鸡香积露文。 / 殷鲜一相杂，啼笑两难分。 / 月里宁无姊，云中亦有君。 / 三清与仙岛，何事亦离群。
（二） / 珠馆薰燃久，玉房梳扫余。 / 烧兰才作烛，襞锦不成书。 / 本以亭亭远，翻嫌眽眽疏。 / 回头问残照，残照更空虚。

English

I.

A swallow’s form is damaged by the strength of the wind.
On the cloves, patterns of accumulating dew.

Fresh crimson, intermingled.
To weep, to smile, the two are indistinguishable.

If only there were no sister inside the moon,
surrounded by clouds, a master.

Three pure spheres and immortal islands.
What is the reason for your exile?

II.

At Pearl Lodge blazing fragrance lingers.
After combing, brushing, jade rooms.

A burning orchid serves as a candle.
Gathered brocade never becoming text.

What by nature is gracefully remote,
transforms to bitterness with distant gazing.

I turn my head. I ask the winnowing gleam.
The winnowing gleam grows hollow.

 

Biography

李商隐（约812/813年 — 约858年），字义山，号玉溪生、樊南生。晚唐诗人。其诗构思风格独特，隐晦迷离，以无题诗著名，也有多首爱情诗为人传诵。

LI SHANGYIN (813-859) was a poet from the late Tang era. His works are famous for their lush and obscure imagery. During his lifetime, Li Shangyin held various posts as a low-level government official and though his poetry and prose were appreciated within certain literary circles, his status as one of the most important poets of his time was not recognized until after his death.

CHLOE GARCIA ROBERTS is a poet and translator living in the Boston area. Her poems, translations and criticism have appeared, or are forthcoming, in Poetry International, Zoland Poetry, and CutBank. She has received awards and grants from the Jerome Foundation, the Summer Literary Seminars, and the Vermont Studio Center. She is an editor at Zoland Poetry and associate curator of the Woodberry Poetry Room at Harvard.

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