The three translations from which this piece was written:
Translation I: Character-by-character translation by Frances Matthews
Sky – connect/catch – cloud – large waves – connect/continuous – daybreak – mist.
Milky – Way – desire/intend – turn – thousand – sails – dance.
Resemble – seemingly – dream – soul/spirit – return to – God – place.
Hear/become/aware/smell – sky – words.
Abundant – diligent/attentive – ask – me – return – which – place.
I – report – road – long – sigh/alas – day – sunset.
Study – poetry – insulting/deceiving/startling – has – scare/startle – people – sentence.
Nine – thousand – mile – wind – mythical huge bird (phoenix) – correct/really – soars/raised.
Wind – stop/rest – dwell/stop.
Fairyland – boat – puff/blow – receive – three – mountain – go.
Translation II: by Guo Yuanyuan
(This poem is quite different of her other poem. Talk about a dream of her.)
She sailing on the sea, and then see a king of sky (I think is God)
and the king ask her, where is her going?
she answer the way is too far and hard.
she say: wind! help me go to three mountains (an old saying: some wisdom people live there)
Translation III: CUHK Journal of Humanities
The sky touches cloud-waves trailing morning mist;
The Milky Way is about to turn as a thousand sails dance.
My soul in a dream draws near God’s place
And I hear Heaven’s voice
Earnestly ask where I am going.
I say, the road is long, alas, and the day is late.
In poetry startling lines come hard.
On a nine-thousand-mile wind the phoenix really soars.
May the wind not stop
While it drives my tattered sail to the Fairy Isles.