Love
Ai Ai Thinks of the Man She Loves
Translated by Florence Ayscough and Amy Lowell (1921) · From Fir-Flower Tablets (1921)
How often must I pass the moonlight nights alone?
I gaze far--far--for the Seven Scents Chariot.
My girdle drops because my waist is shrunken.
The golden hairpins of my disordered head-dress are all askew.
Codex Note
From "Songs of the Courtesans", written during the Liang Dynasty (A.D. 502-557); the book gives no author beyond the singer, Ai Ai.
Cite this poem
MLA
Anonymous (Classical Chinese). “Ai Ai Thinks of the Man She Loves.” Translated by Florence Ayscough and Amy Lowell. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/classical-chinese-anonymous/22/.
Chicago
Anonymous (Classical Chinese). “Ai Ai Thinks of the Man She Loves.” Translated by Florence Ayscough and Amy Lowell. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/classical-chinese-anonymous/22/.
Read this poem with the Codex →