Now that the palace-gate has softly closed on its £lowers, Ladies file out to their pavilion of jade, Abrim to the lips with imperial gossip But not daring to breathe it with a parrot among them.
Original Poem:
「宫词」
寂寂花时闭院门，美人相并立琼轩。
含情欲说宫中事，鹦鹉前头不敢言。
Interpretation:
The juxtaposition of the two courtesans in this poem carries the emotion, which makes the grievances more grievous and the sorrows more mournful, and makes the reading of the poem sob with tears.
Zhu Qingyu, whose date of birth and death is not known, was named Kejiu, with the word line, and also the word Qingxu, a native of Yuezhou (present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province), who was educated by Zhang Ji, and was enrolled in the first grade of the Bao Li Jinshi, and was appointed as a school scholar in the Secretarial Province. His poems were characterized by freshness of diction and meticulous writing style.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
