It's so boring when you're not here!

Perhaps they loved more intensely because there was nothing else to do?

Rapunzel by Madalyn McLeod on DeviantArt

Jade Pavilion Songs (5)
Quan Deyu

I stitch some drapes
    Inside my room,
        I played the flute
            But now that’s done.
Our time for trysts,
    But you are gone,
        And all day long
            My teardrops drum.

权德舆  玉台体十二首·其五
楼上吹箫罢，闺中刺绣阑。
佳期不可见，尽日泪潺潺。

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Quan Deyu’s Jade Pavilion Songs continue with this tiny gem. The sheer frustration of being apart shines through here. In Chinese poetry, parallelism is one of the rich devices used to convey many different meanings, and here it speaks of dull repetition.

Many of these poems are ripe for reinterpretation - I think a modern take on this piece would see the protagonist weeping in frustration at the man who put her in this position. But the first level of meaning that Quan is going for remains a simple longing, a desire to have the other who is far away.