Chapter 51 when a lamp is broken
when a lamp is broken
1
When a lamp is broken,
Its light dies in ashes;
When the clouds parted from the sky,
The rainbow's splendor faded away.
If the lute breaks its strings,
The sweet melody is silenced;
If the mouth finishes speaking,
The charm of love is quickly forgotten.
2
like music and light
It must coexist with the pipa and the lamp,
heart can't sing
If that spirit has faded:
No song, just mourning,
Like the wind blowing through a corner of ruins,
like wailing waves
Ring the death knell for dead sailors.
3
Once two hearts unite,
Love leaves the well-crafted nest,
and the weaker one
It must suffer from what it has been.
Oh love!you are moaning
The impermanence of the world, why
looking for the weakest soul
To be your cradle, your chamber, your coffin?
4
It exhausts you with passion,
As the storm shakes the ravens;
Reason will laugh at you,
Like the sun in the winter sky.
the rafters of your lair
will rot, and when the cold wind blows,
The leaves are falling, your house
would expose you to ridicule.
1822
Translated by Cha Liangzheng