My Thoughts in Early Winter 西江月·初冬有懷

Tune: Xi Jiang Yue(1) (Moon Over the West River) 

By Yuan Xi from White Cloud Poetry Society | Translated by Jennifer Zeng and Gerard Traub

文：白雲詩社 元曦 | 英文翻譯：曾錚

Wandering through foreign lands
Half of my lifetime has passed
Wherever I go
In this human world
I build another cottage as I cultivate myself
My dream of returning
Always revisiting
As strong as in the beginning
Carrying me over thousands of rivers and mountains.

半世異鄉為客，

平生人境結廬。

頻來歸夢總如初。

萬水千山飛度。

Don't tell me how wonderful and colorful this world is! 
I only care about traveling freely
To rivers and lakes
Amidst mist and evening glow
Yet alas! For what reasons do I sometimes hesitate? 
A faint sadness swells in my chest
As I vaguely remember
My real home in the heavens
Hidden beyond the white clouds. 

莫道有情浮世，

煙霞自在江湖。

偶然何事感躊躇。

隱約白雲深處。

1. Xi Jiang Yue is A qupai, the generic term for a fixed melody used in traditional Chinese music. A qupai (Chinese: 曲牌; pinyin: qǔpái; also called Chinese: 牌子; pinyin: paizi) is the generic term for a fixed melody used in traditional Chinese music. The literal meaning is "named tune," "labeled melody," "titled tune," or "titled song".)

Photo by Benny Zhang 攝影：張炳乾