The Swallow’s Song17
By Emperor Wen
Of the Wei Dynasty (a.d. 220-264)
The autumn winds are blowing,
The air is cool and drear,
The forest leaves are falling,
The grass is scant and sear.
The dew to hoar-frost changes,
And swallows southward fly;
While from the North in batches
The wild swan cloud the sky.
And I such signs discerning
Think of you, husband dear,
And long for your home-coming
From marches long and drear.
Why do you longer tarry
In such a distant place?
Think of my lonely vigils,
Sad thoughts and tear-stained face!
The harp I often finger,
And try to sing a song;
But soon I sigh and falter,
And for your coming long.
The Moon’s pure light is shining
Upon my lonely bed;
The ‘Star-Stream’s’18 westward flowing,
The night is not far sped.
The Cowherd and the Spinning-Girl19
Lament the doom that bars
The meeting of true lovers,
Across the Stream of Stars.
What folly did they ponder
To meet so dire a fate?
I wonder if we also
Are doomed to trial as great!
Notes
17 In this poem the thoughts of a woman, whose husband is engaged in the wars beyond the frontier, are described by the poet.
18 The Milky Way.
19 K’ien-Niu (Cowherd) and Chih-Nü (Spinning-Girl) are the names of two stars and, according to a Chinese legend, these two stars are lovers doomed to gaze at each other across the wide ‘River of Stars’; i.e. the Milky Way, but never meet. According to one version of the legend, however, the lovers are allowed to meet once a year, on the seventh night of the Seventh Month, when birds form a bridge over the ‘River of Stars’ to enable the Spinning-Girl to meet her lover.