Wishing to ask of autumn's heart—no one else knows;
Murmuring, hands behind my back, I knock at the eastern fence.
Proud and aloof, with whom do you hide from the world?
Blossoming like all others—why so late?
Garden dew and courtyard frost—how lonely!
Wild geese return, crickets ail—do you know longing too?
Do not say no one in the world can converse with you;
If you could speak, why not share a word or two?
English titles, text, and notes are AI-assisted for reading only; for scholarship cite the Chinese and authoritative editions.
Annotation
Also by Daiyu, ranked among the top three chrysanthemum poems. Using personification to question the chrysanthemum, 'Proud and aloof, with whom do you hide?' addresses both the flower and herself. 'Eastern fence' again invokes Tao Yuanming.
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