People Hide Their Love

By: Wu-ti [Emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty]

Who says
That it’s by my desire,
This separation, this living so far from you?
My dress still smells of the lavender you gave me:
My hand still holds the letter you sent.
Round my waist I wear a double sash:
I dream that it binds us both with a same-heart knot.
Did not you know that people hide their love,
Like the flower that seems too precious to be picked?