Very quietly I take my leave

　　As quietly as I came here;

　　Quietly I wave good-bye

　　To the rosy clouds in the western sky.

　　The golden willows by the riverside

　　Are young brides in the setting sun;

　　Their reflections on the shimmering waves

　　Always linger in the depth of my heart.

　　The floating heart growing in the sludge

　　Sways leisurely under the water;

　　In the gentle waves of Cambridge

　　I would be a water plant!

　　That pool under the shade of elm trees

　　Holds not water but the rainbow from the sky;

　　Shattered to pieces among the duckweeds

　　Is the sediment of a rainbow-like dream?

　　To seek a dream? Just to pole a boat upstream

　　To where the green grass is more verdant;

　　Or to have the boat fully loaded with starlight

　　And sing aloud in the splendor of starlight.

　　But I cannot sing aloud

　　Quietness is my farewell music;

　　Even summer insects heap silence for me

　　Silent is Cambridge tonight!

　　Very quietly I take my leave

　　As quietly as I came here;

　　Gently I flick my sleeves

　　Not even a wisp of cloud will I bring away