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Three Poems

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by Yáng Wân, translated by Carolanna Lisonbee To the tune of 'Flowers Fill the Palace' “On a summer evening, I held a party for various young ladies outside my house.” In the shade of the trees there's a hint of early coolness. We all watch the moon rise into the sky from the treetops. I don't know how many flowers there are along the flower lane, just that their delicate fragrance twines heavily through the air. The dew is still light, but people are already somber with every kind of emotion, deep and glib alike. Exhausted from chasing fireflies down the flower lane, and half drunk, we fall asleep on the fresh grass.
by Yáng Wân, translated by Carolanna Lisonbee To the tune of 'Flowers Fill the Palace' “On a summer evening, I held a party for various young ladies outside my house.” In the shade of the trees there's a hint of early coolness. We all watch the moon rise into the sky from the treetops. I don't know how many flowers there are along the flower lane, just that their delicate fragrance twines heavily through the air. The dew is still light, but people are already somber with every kind of emotion, deep and glib alike. Exhausted from chasing fireflies down the flower lane, and half drunk, we fall asleep on the fresh grass.
Hearing a Wild Goose Far away, flying swiftly, swiftly, higher and higher into the azure emptiness as if delivering an inkling of our thoughts to the bright moon. And though I know I recently, my darling, spent time by your side, my own self is full of love, yet this letter I'm trying to write is so empty of words.

Yáng Wǎn (c. 1602—1644) was one of the famous courtesans of the Qinhuai pleasure district in Nanjing in the late Ming Dynasty. She was celebrated for her poetry, lyrics, and calligraphy, and interacted with many other literary and intellectual luminaries of the period. She was murdered by bandits during the social unrest at the collapse of the Ming dynasty.

Carolanna Lisonbee is a teacher, writer, translator, and amateur globetrotting adventuress living in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Her poems and translations have appeared in Reliquiae, AzonaL, Blue Unicorn, Ballast Journal, Acumen, and Poet Lore, among others. She posts original poems, translations, and science news haikus as @carolanna_poetry on Instagram and Threads and @carolanna-poetry.bsky.social on Bluesky.

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