Two Untitled Poems: No. 1
English translation and interpretation are being reviewed.
画楼西畔桂堂东。
身无彩凤双飞翼，
心有灵犀一点通。
隔座送钩春酒暖，
分曹射覆蜡灯红。
嗟余听鼓应官去，
走马兰台类转蓬。
English translation
Last night's stars, last night's wind, west of the painted tower, east of the cassia hall.
I have no wings of the bright phoenix to fly to you, but our hearts are joined by one thread of understanding.
Across the seats we passed the hook, the spring wine warm, divided into sides we guessed at hidden things, the candles red.
Alas, I hear the drum and must go to my post, riding to the Orchid Terrace, like a drifting tumbleweed.
Meaning
Last night the stars shone brilliant, yet at midnight a cool breeze stirred; our feast was set west of the painted tower and east of the cassia hall.
Though I lack the paired wings of the bright phoenix and cannot fly wing to wing with you, our hearts are joined like the magic horn of the rhinoceros, our feelings closely linked.
We played at guessing hooks across our seats, and the spring wine warmed us; divided into parties for the drinking game, we strove for victory while the candlelight flushed red.
Alas, I hear the fifth-watch drum and must go to answer the roll at court; I whip my horse towards the Orchid Terrace, like a tumbleweed whirled along by the wind.
Background
Read the background
As for the so-called "Untitled" poems, opinion has always been divided: some hold that they should be read as allegories, others that they all recount actual events. Judging from Li Shangyin's "Untitled" poems, they all appear to be love poems; they do have real subjects behind them, which the poet simply found it inconvenient to name.