Translation of the Chinese poem 庭中有奇樹, the ninth poem in the Han dynasty collection 古詩十九首 (Nineteen Old Poems).
庭中有奇樹
tíng zhōng yǒu qí shù
[court] [in] [has] [strange] [tree]
In the courtyard there is a strange tree.
綠葉發華滋
lǜ yè fā huá zī
[green] [leaf] [send out] [flowery] [excite]
Flowers burst forth from green leaves;
攀條折其榮
pān tiáo zhé qí róng
[pill] [item] [break] [its] [glory]
I break off the most splendid,
將以遺所思
qiāng yǐ yí suǒ sī
[desire] [take] [leave with] [that which] [think of]
desiring to give it to the one I long for.
馨香盈懷袖
xīn xiāng yíng huái xiù
[fragrant] [sweet] [fill] [breast] [sleeve]
The sweet fragrance fills my breast and sleeves.
路遠莫致之
lù yuǎn mò zhì zhī
[road] [far] [there is none] [deliver] [it]
But the road is long and there is no way to deliver it.
此物何足貢
cǐ wù hé zú gòng
[this] [thing] [how] [sufficient] [gift]
How could this thing be a sufficient gift?
但感別經時
dàn gǎn bié jīng shí
[only] [move] [part] [pass] [time]
Only because I am moved by how long ago we parted.