Flowers in shadow, palace wall at dusk,
Chirping birds are flying back to roost.
Stars move above the ten thousand doors;
The moon is big nearing the nine heavens.
Not sleeping, I hear a golden key;
In the wind, I think there are jade pendants.
Tomorrow morning, I have to present a memorial,
Again and again, I ask about the night.
花隐掖垣暮，啾啾栖鸟过。星临万户动，月傍九霄多。
不寝听金钥，因风想玉珂。明朝有封事，数问夜如何。
This poem dates from 758.
The Left Office was the Imperial Chancellery, in which Du Fu held the office of Remembrancer or Reminder.
The jade pendants are on the bridles of horses which he imagines coming and going.
Classical Chinese poetry thrives on Concision and Ambiguity. Without tense or number, the words create a timeless space where the reader becomes the co-creator of the poem's meaning.
Look for Contrasts: light and shadow, movement and stillness. Don't just translate the words; feel the Yijing (artistic conception) that lingers long after the last character.
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