Chu Shu Chen
Alone
I raise the curtains and go out
To watch the moon. Leaning on the
Balcony, I breathe the evening
Wind from the west, heavy with the
Odors of decaying Autumn.
The rose jade of the river
Blends with the green jade of the void.
Hidden in the grass a cricket chirps.
Hidden in the sky storks cry out.
I turn over in
My heart the memories of
Other days. Tonight as always
There is no one to share my thoughts.

(from "One Hundred Poems from the Chinese)

transl. by Kenneth Rexroth