[updated September 2022]
Hui Wen, A Pretty Lady’s Room and Summer Resentment: (The Happy Buddha)
菩 萨 蛮：回 文 夏 闺 怨
柳 庭 风 静 人 眠 昼
昼 眠 人 静 风 庭 柳。
香 汗 薄 衫 凉
凉 衫 薄 汗 香。
手 红 冰 碗 藕
藕 碗 冰 红 手。
郎 笑 藕 丝 长
长 丝 藕 笑 郎。
Hui Wen Xia Gui Yuan: (Pu Sa Man)
Liu ting feng jing ren mian zhou
Zhou mian ren jing feng ting liu
Xiang han bao shan liang
Liang shan bao han xiang.
Shou hong bing wan ou
Ou wan bing hong shou
Lang xiao ou si chang
Chang si ou xiao lang.
Hui Wen, A Pretty Lady’s Room and Summer Resentment: (The Happy Buddha)
Willow trees in the front courtyard, wind quiet, a pretty lady sleeps well during the day
In a very deep sleep, the beauty is motionless, the wind stirs the courtyard willows.
Aroma of her rouge and perspiration, flimsy unlined blouse makes her feel cool
Cool unlined blouse, faint perspiration and makeup fragrance.
Held in her pink hand, cold bowl of lotus root
Lotus root in an iced bowl makes her pink hand cool.
Her love smiles, although separated, she is still in his thoughts
She thinks that although they are apart, feels anger because her love not understood.
Commentary:
This poem was written in the format as four consecutive palindromic couplets. The second line of each couplet uses the same characters as the first line, only backward.