Two Versions

The black mirror-like lake gave rise to the first line and after revisions and refinements, it became,

1 湖平水靜烏雲皺 Calm and quiet is the lake but dark clouds wrinkling the surface,
2 鏡中歲月使人愁 The aging image in the mirror makes one sad,
3 曾經花魁十二釵 Once upon an Oiran with twelve hairpins,
4 今日草野河邊柳 But now just a blade of wild grass by the river's willow trees.

1 The smooth surface of the lake looked wrinkled by the reflection of the churning dark clouds.

3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oiran

Version 2 after many weeks of reworking and refining...

1 湖水浮影烏雲皺 Reflections on the lake’s waters are wrinkled by darkened clouds above,
2 西畔停飛白鷺愁 And upon the west bank, sorrowful are white egrets no longer in flight.
3 世外靈芝豈何缺 How could there be lack of elixir in the realms beyond this mortal world?
4 鏡中歲月難挽留 And neither will Time in the mirror be frozen.

Thursday, March 31, 2022