From: Su Feng

E-Mail: feng@seismo.unr.edu

Subject: Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

 Hi, everyone:
 
 Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!
 
 Someone send me this famous poem. I like to share it with
 all of you here. I made a little change on the translation 
 to reflect the orginal meaning of this poem and put 
 punctuation back. Hope you will enjoy it.
 
 
 When will the moon be clear and bright?
 With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the blue sky.
 I wonder what time it would be
 in the heavens on this night.
 I'd like to ride the wind to fly there,
 Yet I fear the crystal and jade mansions are
 Much too high and cold for me.
 Dancing with my moon-lit shadow,
 It does not seem like on the human world.
 The moon rounds the red mansion,
 Stoops to silk-pad doors,
 Shines upon the sleepless.
 Bearing no grudge,
 Why does the moon tend to be full when people are apart?
 People may have sorrow or joy, be near or far apart,
 The moon may be dim or bright, wax or wane,
 This has been going on since the beginning of the time.
 May we have friendship forever, 
 Though far apart, we are still able to
 share the beauty
 of the moon
 together.
 
 
 - Poem written during the night of the Mid-Autumn 
 Festival of 1076 by Su Dong Po (Translated by 
 Shun-Yi Lee in 1998 for Blue Mountain Arts)