Li Bai: My Versions in English

Blue mountains to the north of town.

White water to the east of town.

We stop here for a last goodbye:

Thistledown flies a thousand li.

Now you must be a floating cloud,

and your old friend, the setting sun.

Waving, each goes his separate way.

Parting horses nicker and neigh.

As flowers bloom and leaves unfold,

my friend sets out, east for Guanling.

His solitary sail recedes,

vanishing where river meets sky.

Two versions of "Jade Stairs"

Resentment on the Jade Stairs

Midnight on the stairs of jade,

white dew soaks her silken hose.

Draw down then the crystal shade:

fall's moon glitters in its gems.

Stood Up on the Jade Stairs

Midnight on the stairs of jade,

white dew soaked your silken hem.

Draw down then the crystal shade:

moonlight glitters in its gems.

High Summer

Lazing in the mountain wood,

waving a white feather fan,

I get up, open my clothes,

hang my headband on a rock.

Green pine wind plays through my hair.

Wine with the Mountain Hermit

We drink amid the mountain flowers.

A cup, one more, and then another.

I'm in a stupor, you stagger off.

Come back with your lute, when you can.

Alone in My Cups

Drinking wine, unaware

of nightfall. Fallen flowers

fill the folds of my clothes.

Getting up and walking

to the moonlit river,

where no birds and few men

remain.