People are shocked that I recently look like a wreck.
It’s because I have missed you so awfully since we parted.
From some earlier life of mine
I owe you a debt of misery.
Suffering so, and unable to get free.
As the fine night lasts on,
I have no way to keep from thoughts of love.
Within the brocade covers your lingering scent still stays.
How can I ever in lamplight as before
dote on your charming shape as much as I please?
近来憔悴人惊怪。
为别后、相思煞。
我前生、负你愁烦债。
便苦恁难开解。
良夜永、牵情无计奈。
锦被里、馀香犹在。
怎得依前灯下，恣意怜娇态。
The lyric expresses the anguish of longing and the troubled state of mind after separation, portraying the emotional predicament of "endless fine nights, love-torn and helpless".
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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