He cut the candle at the west window, but he spoke to the rain in the evening. His poem came from the poem "A message to friends in the north on a rainy night" by Li Shangyin, a poet in the Tang Dynasty.
Whole poem:
When you ask about the return date, it's hard to say, evening rain, Manqiuchi.
When * * * cut the candle at the west window, but talk about the rain at night.
When you ask about the date of return, it's hard to say clearly. A night of heavy rain in Bashan filled the autumn pool. When can I return to my hometown? I will cut the candle with you at the west window and tell each other my thoughts in the rainy night tonight.
Extended data
Notes for Friends in the North on a Rainy Night is a lyric quatrain written by Li Shangyin, a poet in the late Tang Dynasty, to his wife (or friend) in Chang 'an and a foreign land in Bashu. It is the poet's reply to each other. The first two sentences of this poem, with questions and answers and descriptions of the immediate environment, illustrate the lonely feelings and deep thoughts for his wife. The last two sentences imagine the joy of meeting again in the future and compare with the loneliness tonight.
This poem is improvised, showing the twists and turns of the poet's feelings in an instant. The language is concise, and there is no trace of modification in the wording and sentence making. Unlike most of Li Shangyin's poems, which are rich in rhetoric, exquisite in allusions and good at symbolism, this poem is simple and natural, and also has the artistic characteristics of "deep sustenance and gentle wording".