Here's another quick translation of a Li Changji poem. I don't have a lot to say about it, not because there's not much to say, but because I'm in a bit of a hurry and don't feel like writing a whole lot at the moment. So it's up to you, dear reader, to read the poem and mull it over. Chew it slowly, let the flavors of gloom, decay, and wistfulness meld on your tongue, and enjoy.
微臣
史大偉
傷心行
李賀 （李長吉）
咽咽學楚吟
病骨傷幽素
秋姿曰髮生
木葉啼風雨
燈青蘭膏歇
落照飛蛾舞
古壁生凝塵
羈魂夢中語
Ballad of a Wounded Heart
Li He (Li Changji)
Choking back sobs, studying the Songs of Chu
sick to my bones, lamenting my bare solitude
An autumnal visage—hair gone white
a tree whose leaves cry out in the wind and rain
The lamplight goes blue as the orchid oil runs dry
moths flutter and dance in the failing light
The old walls grow thick with dust
The wandering soul speaks in my dreams
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