静夜思

李白

床前明月光，
疑是地上霜。
举头望明月，
低头思故乡

Thinking At Night

Li Bai

Before my bed, moonlight so bright
it’s almost like frost upon the ground.
Lifting my head, I look at the moon,
lowering my head, I think of home.

送元二使安西

王维

渭城朝雨浥轻尘，客舍青青柳色新。
劝君更尽一杯酒， 西出阳关无故人。

Farewell To A Friend

Wang Wei

The dust in Wei Chang has been cleared by rain.
Next to the Inn, willows shimmer green.
Before you leave, won’t you have one more cup?
West of Yang Guan, you will find no friends.

咏柳

贺知章

碧玉妆成一树高，
万条垂下绿丝绦。
不知细叶谁裁出，
二月春风似剪刀。

The Willow

He Zhizhang

The tall willow is adorned with Jasper,
a thousand branches like emerald threads.
Who could have cut the leaves so fine? –
The early spring wind, sharp as scissor blades.

赋得自君之出矣

张九龄

自君之出矣，
不复理残机。
思君如满月，
夜夜减清辉。

Sir, Ever Since You Left

Zhang Jiuling

Sir, ever since you left,
I haven’t returned to my loom.
I’m like the full moon when I think of you,
slowly waning as the nights pass.

闺怨

张九龄

闺中少妇不知愁，
春日凝妆上翠楼。
忽见陌头杨柳色，
悔教夫婿觅封侯。

Boudoir

Zhang Jiuling

In her chamber she had never known worry.
Now, dressed for spring, she climbs her tower.
In the street, the poplars have turned green.
For a mere title she sent him to war.

回乡偶书

贺知章

少小离家老大回
乡音无改鬢毛衰
儿童相见不相识
笑问客从何处来

Returning Home

He Zhizhang

I left home young and return an old man.
My accent is unchanged, but my hair has grown coarse.
Children see me, but don’t recognise this stranger.
Laughing, they ask from where I have come.

Nicholas Beaumont is a 22-year-old Graduate from the University of Lincoln, currently working in Anhui, China. In 2010 he won the Nigel Winn Memorial Award for Best Piece of Creative Writing by a Student Studying English. His work has appeared in Vinyl Poetry, The Red Ceiling, Snakeskin, an anthology by Tower Poetry, and has won the Creative Writing Ink Quarterly Poetry Competition. Nicholas is also poetry editor of b[liminal] magazine.