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In Deep Thought, Gazing at the Moon

by Li Po (Li Bai)
Translated by Florence Ayscough & Amy Lowell (1921) · From Fir-Flower Tablets

The clear spring reflects the thin, wide-spreading pine-tree—
And for how many thousand, thousand years?
No one knows.
The late Autumn moon shivers along the little water ripples,
The brilliance of it flows in through the window.
Before it I sit for a long time absent-mindedly chanting,
Thinking of my friend—
What deep thoughts!
There is no way to see him. How then can we speak together?
Joy is dead. Sorrow is the heart of man.

This poem and this translation are in the public domain. Source text: Project Gutenberg.

More poems by Li Po (Li Bai)

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