[转载]English Translation of 花下醉 by 李商隐

李商隐《花下醉》

寻芳不觉醉流霞，

倚树沉眠日已斜。

客散酒醒深夜后，

更持红烛赏残花。

Not far into the garden did I succumb to the rosy wine

How sound was my sleep by a blooming tree despite the setting sun

At midnight the guests were all gone and I finally turned sober

Holding a candle I leered at the few flowers yet to wither

Note: I decided to translate this poem after I came across a blog about an American poet's project of translating 李商隐's poems into English (http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_808639170102vm2l.html). Her translation of the same poem seems to say that a virtually word-by-word translation might just do the job: the end result is poetic if not quite comprehensible. (Who knows? A lack of comprehensibility could be one of the ingredients of poeticism.) All credit to the poetic quality of Chinese characters.

Translation by Chloe Garcia Roberts:

Seeking sweetness, insensible, drunk on streaming glowing clouds,

I rested against a tree, sunk into sleep, sun already slanting.

After the guests left, woken from intoxication into deep night:

Still clutching the red candle, I delight in waning flowers.