History & Politics
A Night-Vigil in the Left Court of the Palace
Translated by Witter Bynner and Kiang Kang-hu (1929) · From The Jade Mountain (1929)
Flowers are shadowed, the palace darkens,
Birds twitter by for a place to perch;
Heaven's ten thousand windows are twinkling,
And nine cloud-terraces are gleaming in the moonlight.
. . . While I wait for the golden lock to turn,
I hear jade pendants tinkling in the wind. . . .
I have a petition to present in the morning,
All night I ask what time it is.
Cite this poem
MLA
Fu, Tu. “A Night-Vigil in the Left Court of the Palace.” Translated by Witter Bynner and Kiang Kang-hu. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/tu-fu/41/.
Chicago
Fu, Tu. “A Night-Vigil in the Left Court of the Palace.” Translated by Witter Bynner and Kiang Kang-hu. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/tu-fu/41/.
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