Who Planted The Banana Tree Before The Window? Poem by East Sea Fairy Xing Yi

By LI Qingzhao Translated By East Sea Fairy

Who planted the banana tree
right before the window,
whose shady shade shelters the yard completely?
Of that matter I don't know.
Entirely lies the yard in its shady shadow.
Mutually attached are the blades of the leaves
and their ever-spreading veins. Leaf after leaf they go,
sheet after sheet it interweaves,
till finally a shade covering the whole yard the tree weaves.

Failing to find and real sleep,
not even a catnap slight
under aweight of sorrow greatand deep
I hear a rain start to fall just at midnight
drop by drop, and pitter-pattered through the night.
It seems that the pitter-patter me never leaves
and that the continuous patters never stop knocking at my heart quite.
So much me it grieves
that I have to throw on my gown and get up to shake away care's raveled sleaves.