青青河畔草 Translation - Green, Green, Grass on the Riverbank

This is a translation of the poem 青青河畔草 from 古詩十九首 (Nineteen Old Poems).

青青河畔草 qīng qīng hé pàn cǎo [green] [green] [river] [bank] [grass] Green, green, grass on the riverbank,

鬱鬱園中柳 yù yù yuán zhōng liǔ [lush] [lush] [court] [in] [willow] Lush, lush, willows in the courtyard.

盈盈樓上女 yíng yíng lóu shàng nǚ [full] [full] [floor] [upper] [woman] A voluptuous woman on the upper floor,

皎皎當窗牖 jiǎo jiǎo dāng chuāng yǒu [bright] [bright] [just at] [window] [lattice] Stands radiantly behind a window.

娥娥紅粉糚 é é hóng fěn zhuāng [beautiful] [beautiful] [red] [powder] [make-up] Beautiful in red make-up,

纖纖出素手 xiān xiān chū sùshǒu [delicate] [delicate] [put forth] [white] [hand] She gracefully extends a pale hand.

昔為唱家女 xí wèi chàng jiā nǚ [former] [be] [sing] [house] [girl] Previously in a house of singing girls,

今為蕩子夫 jīn wéi dàng zi fu [now] [be] [wandering vagrant][] [wife] Now the wife of a wandering vagrant.

蕩子行不歸 dàng zi xíng bù guī [wandering vagrant][] [travel] [not] [return] The wanderer travels and does not return;

空床難獨守 kōng chuáng nán dú shǒu [empty] [bed] [hard] [alone] [keep] An empty bed is hard to bear alone.

青青河畔草 from the Nineteen Old Poems (Han dynasty 207BCE – 220CE)