锦瑟
李商隐
锦瑟无端五十弦， 一弦一柱思华年。
庄生晓梦迷蝴蝶， 望帝春心托杜鹃。
沧海月明珠有泪， 蓝田日暖玉生烟。
此情可待成追忆， 只是当时已惘然。
the inlaid harp
li shangyin
i wonder why my inlaid harp has fifty strings,
each with its flower-like fret an interval of youth.
...the sage chuangzi is day-dreaming, bewitched by butterflies,
the spring-heart of emperor wang is crying in a cuckoo,
mermen weep their pearly tears down a moon-green sea,
blue fields are breathing their jade to the sun....
and a moment that ought to have lasted for ever
has come and gone before i knew.