一夜星河五更東 came to my mind in the wee of the night. Couldn’t remember the second line except for the last three characters. When I went back to sleep, the entire poem was completed but upon wakening the new lines were forgotten.
1 銀河一夜五更風 One night upon the Silver River, winds of the fifth watch came,
2 驚醒昨日春曉夢 Startling my spring morning dreams of yesteryears.
3 鵲橋未盡暗淚先 The end of the magpie bridge not in sight but silent tears a first,
4 秋時葉落何相逢 Autumn leaves had already fallen, whence rendezvous of yet again?
1 Silver River is a poetic term for the Milky Way. The Chinese hour is equivalent to two western hours. The third watch begins at midnight and the fifth hence begins at 4am and lasts until 6am. Here it refers to the coming morning.
3 The magpie bridge symbolizes long distance separation of love. It came from the story of the Cowherd and the Heavenly Spinning Maid. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qixi_Festival. 未盡 can mean that the bridge had not scattered yet or that the rendezvous point on the bridge had not reached.
4 The twilight of one’s life and may not live long enough for another celebration of the Seventh Night or to think of the past.
Saturday, April 8, 2023
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