Where hengzhi grows by steps, the door draped in creeping vines—
Fit for a corner or a pot alike.
The flower, loving purity, can hardly find a mate;
The person, grieving autumn, easily breaks her heart.
A jade candle drips dry its tears in the wind;
A crystal curtain parts the moon's reflection.
Secret feelings she would confide to Chang'e,
But the empty corridor is dark with night.
English titles, text, and notes are AI-assisted for reading only; for scholarship cite the Chinese and authoritative editions.
Annotation
Xiangyun's second poem. 'The flower, loving purity, can hardly find a mate' hints at her troubled marriage. 'Grieving autumn, easily breaks her heart' foreshadows her desolate later years. This poem is more melancholy than the first. Together they capture Xiangyun's dual nature—bold yet sorrowful.
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