Du Fu: Evening Exhaustion

 

[updated September 2022]

 

Evening Exhaustion

 

倦 夜
竹 凉 侵 卧 内
野 月 满 庭 隅。
重 露 成 绢 滴
稀 星 乍 有 无。
暗 飞 萤 自 照
水 宿 鸟 相 呼。
万 事 于 戈 里
空 悲 清 夜 徂。
Juan Ye

Zhu liang qin wo nei
Ye yue man ting yu.
Chong lu cheng juan di
Xi xing zha you wu.

An fei ying zi zhao
Shui su niao xiang hu.
Wan shi yu ge li
Kong bei qing ye cu!

 

Evening Exhaustion

Cool bamboo air invades inside where I lie
Open country full moon in the corner of the front courtyard.
Again the dew produces drops that trickle down
Thinly scattered stars arise with minimum display.

Hidden fireflies naturally shine on
Overnight river birds sigh to each other.
With thousands of possibilities, think of our battleaxes
Emptiness and sorrows, the clear evening yet to end!