Unrequited Love

This came about on trying to express love between two whose ages are as wide as a river. Though on opposite banks but at different points in time, they can see but cannot be physically together…

1 歲月河流朝暮刻 Floweth is the River of Time from dawn and through the night,
2 遙遠二岸兩相隔 And far apart are its banks, separating us.
3 銀漢一人鵲橋難 ‘tis difficult to build a magpie bridge in the Milky Way for one,
4 西痴東望総是客 Lovelorn in the West, staring to the East but still an outsider be.

1 歲 refers to the changing of the seasons and 月, the phases of the moon – the passage of the time. 刻 technically refers to 1/100 of a day, slightly less than 15 minutes. The character means “a mark/etching”. These are the marks on the sundial or on a clepsydra.

2 The separation refers to the two banks or people.

3 Another name for 銀河, the Milky Way. This refers to the story of the Cowherd and the Spinning Maid. The bridge of magpies was formed by starting on the opposite banks so that the lovers could meet in the middle. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cowherd_and_the_Weaver_Girl

4 On the timeline, west (left) refers to earlier years. 客 means “guest”, not part of the family living together, hence “outsider” is a more appropriate translation. This poem laments about unrequited love from an older person for a younger one.

Tuesday, June 21, 2022