明月几时有
把酒问青天
不知天上宫阙
今夕是何年
我欲乘风归去
又恐琼楼玉宇
高处不胜寒
起舞弄清影
何似在人间
转朱阁
低绮户
照无眠
不应有恨
何事长向别时圆
人有悲欢离合
月有阴晴圆缺
此事古难全
但愿人长久
千里共婵娟
When is there moonlight?
Winecup in hand, I ask the deep blue sky
Not knowing in those celestial palaces on high
What year it is tonight
I long to fly on the wind
Yet dread those crystal towers, those courts of jade
Freezing to death among those icy heights
Instead I rise to dance with my pale shadow
Better off, after all, in the world of men
Rounding the red pavilion
Stooping to look through gauze windows
The moon shines on the sleepless
The moon should know no sadness
Why, then, is she always full when dear ones are parted?
As men's grief and joy, parting and union
So the moon is bright or dim, waxes and wanes
Always some flaw, and so it has been since of old
My one wish for you is long life
And to share in this loveliness far, far away.
Su Shi (苏轼）
1037-1101
photo: bruce behnke 2020