yè sù shān sì

夜
yè
宿
sù
山
shān
诗
sì
危
wēi
楼
lóu
高
gāo
百
bǎi
尺
chǐ
,
 
手
shǒu
可
kě
摘
zhāi
星
xīng
晨
chén
。
 
不
bú
敢
gǎn
高
gāo
声
shēng
语
yǔ
,
 
恐
kǒng
惊
jīng
天
tiān
上
shàng
人
rén
。
 
夜 yè night
宿 xiù, sù, xiǔ lodge for the night / old / former; constellation; (a) night
山 shān mountain / hill
诗 shī poem / poetry / verse
危 wēi danger / to endanger
楼 lóu house with more than 1 story / storied building / floor
高 gāo high / tall
百 bǎi hundred
尺 chǐ a Chinese foot (M) / one-third of a meter / a ruler / a note musical note on traditional Chinese scale
手 shǒu hand / convenient
可 kě can / may / able to / certain(ly) / to suit / (particle used for emphasis)
摘 zhāi to borrow / to pick (flowers, fruit) / to pluck / to take / to select
星 xīng star / satellite / small amount
晨 chén morning / dawn / daybreak
不 bù, bú (negative prefix) / not / no; (when directly preceding a tone 4) / not / no
敢 gǎn dare
高 gāo high / tall
声 shēng sound / voice / (a measure word, used for sounds) / tone / noise
语 yù, yǔ dialect / language / speech; tell to
恐 kǒng afraid / frightened / to fear
惊 jīng to start / to be frightened / to be scared / alarm
天 tiān day / sky / heaven
上 shàng on / on top / upon / first (of two parts) / previous or last (week, etc.) / upper / higher / above / previous / to climb / to go into / above / to go up
人 rén man / person / people

Translations

A night's loding on the hillside is my poem.

There's danger in this high building, 100 feet up.

My hand can grasp a star in the morning.

But I dare not say it out loud,

Because I tremble with fear at the man above.

TP

Night mountain poem

A perilous tower, a hundred feet tall—

a handy place to catch the stars come out.

I dare not make a noise

for fear of startling the celestial beings

DJW

Poetry is like a tall mansion,

able like a mountain to blot out the stars.

But man dares not speek it aloud

for fear he would ascend to the heavens.

CMW

On the mountain by an old grave,

the poetry of the stars sings of a hundred dangers to the tall house—

so high that my hand can reach out to pluck stars till morning

Loud noises wake us.

Frightened, we climb to the heavens.

IW

A poem about an inn on a mountain [at night]

It is a frighteningly high 100 foot house,

high enough that from it you could reach out and pluck a star from the very dawn.

On it one dares not speak aloud,

for fear of alerting the heavens above.

LJW