by Li Bai (701-762)
My pot of wine among some flowers
I drank alone. No one to join me —
And then, raising my cup, I asked the bright moon
To bring my shadow and together make us three.Alas, the moon was unable to drink
And my shadow haunted me emptily;
But still for a while I had these friends
To cheer me through the end of spring.When I sang, the moon encouraged me.
As I danced, my shadow tumbled after.
And so before long, we were fine companions.
Then I was drunk, and we lost one another.Should such goodwill ever be secure?
Perhaps we will meet again someday
along the River of Stars.
This is my rough translation. Another (probably far more accurate) version can be found here.
Edited to add (9/13/06): And here is another version; the best I’ve read so far:
In the middle of the flowering grove, one jug of beer.
Drinking alone – no friends or family near –
I raise my cup, invite the moon to join me.
Counting my shadow, we’re a party of three.But moon’s a lightweight, doesn’t know how to drink,
And shadow simply matches me cup for cup.
For now, though, they’ll do just fine, I think.
Spring is here, my friends! Let’s live it up.I start to sing; the moon sways to and fro.
I get up and dance – shadow reels in disarray.
Sober, we crave the company of some jolly fellow;
Drunk, each goes his separate way.Freed of all ties, yet bound forever more,
Let’s get back together on the galaxy’s far shore.