A Lush Alone Beneath the Moon
a translation of Li Po
by Jen Hyde

These perennials and this bottle
               are detached from one another,
and here I drink without a partner
proposing a toast to the man on the moon.
In him I see my shadow
and, confused, he refuses a drink! 
I’ve imitated myself, I’ve
advanced my desires upon me.
Now my ease awaits whimsy
I serenade the moon,
waltz then shatter
bewailing to hold you.
Our time is boundless and
I am bound to my faults
and hope—that we’ll be
                      two heads in a cloud.