《敦煌曲子词》凤归云· 闺怨

            征夫数载，萍寄他邦。

            去便无消息，累换星霜

            月下愁听砧杵起，塞燕南行。

            孤眠鸞帐里,枉劳魂梦，夜夜飞扬。

            想君薄行，更不思量。

            谁为传书与，表妾衷肠？

            依牅无言垂血泪，暗祝三光。

            万般无奈处，一炉香尽，又更添香。

             The cloud –winging Phoenix

            A lady’s complaint in her boudoir  <lyrics from Dunhuang>

He gone for years long-drafted

like duckweed floating in strange wild-current

beyond the moving-waves from my sight, vanished

only the grim alternation of frost and starry night left.

Moon night hearing mortar–and-pestle sounds up stretched,

and my eyes follow wild geese in southern flight；

yet bed down lonely with a mandarin duck curtain-bed

and in vain the silently-begged soul’s had flied  

with longing for any destination in dream-driven night.

Thought about how a pity of long-drafted fate,

not dare to picture more about my irony-fated man;and

whoever could be a man, who could?

carry a love-letter for me to reach the master of my fate.

Leaning against the window, mute with the tear-eyed

wish and pray to sunlight and moon and star-eyed heart.

Time keeps jogging on, 

yet the incense burned up as of yore, 

and adding more there are always pale fingers betimes there.

Translation from the Chinese by jinsheng