To the Tune of To Rouge the Lips - Li Ching Chao

Lonely in my secluded chamber,

A thousand sorrows fill every inch
            of my sensitive being.

Regretting that spring has so soon passed,

That rain drops have hastened the falling followers,

I lean over the balustrade,
            Weary and depressed.

Where is my beloved?

Only the fading grassland
            stretches endlessly toward the horizon;

Anxiously I watch the road for your return.

---

Li Ching Chao (Li Qingzhao) (1084 - 1151) China
Translated by Lucy Chow Ho