乐府

Folk-song-styled-verse

孟郊

Meng Jiao

烈女操

A SONG OF A PURE-HEARTED GIRL

梧桐相待老,

Lakka-trees ripen two by two

鸳鸯会双死;

And mandarin-ducks die side by side.

贞妇贵殉夫,

If a true-hearted girl will love only her husband,

舍生亦如此。

In a life as faithfully lived as theirs,

波澜誓不起,

What troubling wave can arrive to vex

妾心井中水。

A spirit like water in a timeless well?