Water Clock at Night: Willow Threads Long
The willow strands are long, the spring rain fine; beyond the flowers the water-clock drips, far and faint. It startles the frontier geese and rouses the city crows; golden partridges adorn the painted screen.
The scented mist is thin, and pierces the curtain and the blind: I am melancholy by the pool and pavilion of a woman’s residence. The red candle turned away, the embroidered blind hangs low; the dream is long, and you know nothing of it.
Reading notes
塞 in 塞雁 is read sài; 薄 in 香雾薄 uses the literary reading bó. The golden partridges are screen decoration, not living birds startled by the water-clock. 谢家 conventionally evokes a woman’s residence here, rather than identifying a particular Xie household. 红烛背 can suggest turning away from the candle or being beyond its light; the English retains the image of turning away.