Night Thoughts at Zhang Tower, Wei Zhuang (300 Tang Shi #168)

The clear se’s lamentation through the night,
Sinuous strings that mourn in wind and rain.
By a lonely lamp I hear a Chu-style horn
As the last of the moon descends behind Zhang Tower—
The fragrant grasses already fade again—
My old friend’s visit still is in the future—
Family letters cannot be delivered—
Autumn geese once more return to the south.

章台夜思
清瑟怨遥夜，
绕弦风雨哀。
孤灯闻楚角，
残月下章台。
芳草已云暮，
故人殊未来。
乡书不可寄，
秋雁又南回。

Zhang Tower was part of a palace (more usually called Zhonghua) in the Warring States kingdom of Chu, now in Jingzhou, Hubei. The Chu horn was a kind of bugle, generally considered to have a somber tone.

---L.