Divination Song (卜算子)

Sheng. Mao.(ca 1310-136)); ink and color on paper

我住长江头,

君住长江尾。

日日思君不见君,

共饮长江水。 

此水几时休?

此恨何时已?

只愿君心似我心,

定不负相思意

Li Zhiyi (ca 1048-1117

You live near the river’s source

And I where it has run its course

I see you only when I dream

And yet we drink from the same stream.

The water keeps on flowing,

My yearning keeps on growing.

I wish your heart were like my heart

And we’d no longer dwell apart.

(Sort of.) For a contemporary musical rendition by the late much lamented Theresa Deng (, 1953-1995), see here