through silken curtains

Wu Changshuo

Wispy mist and thick clouds
The afternoon stretches on, endlessly in sadness
Sweet incense rises from a golden brazier
On this auspicious festival day—Chongyang.
As evening fall, the chills slips in
Through silken curtains to my little jade pillow.

Sipping wine that evening—there by the eastern fence
The fragrance of the chrysanthemums filling up my sleeves, secretly, quietly
How can I not be distraught?
The autumn wind fills the curtains
I have grown thinner than the chrysanthemums.


Li Qingzhao - Drinking Wine in the Shadow of the Flowers-- the Chrysanthemum Festival

tr. Peony


..