Qixi Seven-Character Regulated Verse: To the Cowherd

2007/8/19 13:30:09

It happens to be Qixi—one cannot go without a poem. The Weaving Maiden in the ninth heaven, the Cowherd on the ground below, the Magpie Bridge spanning the rainbow night after night, the moon hazy, the birds hazy, the bridge toll a mere two or three coppers. Thus the poem:

Qixi Regulated Verse: To the Cowherd

Chán Zhōng Shuō Chán

Yesterday's dashing gallant is today's country bumpkin,
New-wave pretty boys compete with fragrant flowers.
A fine man—all meatballs and kidneys,
A real man—third master, second master.
In Empress Wu's palace, love never ends,
In the civilized world, love goes uncovered.
Eroica—boiling wine as thunderclaps rage,
One night the Cowherd, one night at home.