I suddenly remember the distance that I must travel;
I spring from bed and look out to see the time.
The stars and planets are all grown dim in the sky;
Long, long is the road; I cannot stay.
I am going on service, away to the battle-ground,
And I do not know when I shall come back.
I hold your hand with only a deep sigh;
Afterwards, tears — in the days when we are parted.
With all your might enjoy the spring flowers,
But do not forget the time of our love and pride.
To his wife, written when Su Wu was called to battle against the Hsiung-nu
c. 100 BC. Translated by Arthur Waley, in A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems (1918), p. 73
