Xi Murong's Poems for the Twelve Chinese Zodiac Signs

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Below are poems by the renowned poet Xi Murong for the twelve zodiac signs. They’re lyrical and beautiful—let’s take a look.

Aries — "Encounter"

You paint your sorrow at the corner of your eye

I wipe the traces of wandering from my brow

With longing, you add a few white strands to your hair

I let time etch my weary hands

Then we pass each other at the street corner

Indifferent, as if we were strangers

Ah

Dear friend

Please don’t blame the years for changing our faces

We ourselves are the real makeup artists

Reason: Childlike Aries often follow their impulses in love. As the dominant one, they can sometimes be self-centered, pinning blame on others as if everything were someone else’s fault. But just as it isn’t only time that alters our faces, love is rarely complicated by one side alone. Initiative is admirable, but dominance is debatable; if two people can’t meet as equals, how can love last?

Taurus — "Twilight"

On a young night

I heard a song

Clear and lingering

Like a mountain breeze brushing lilies

Yet as I longed, the sound faded

No trace of arrival, no place to return

Only moonlight remained, soaking into my skin

And at a dusk twenty years later

Something like that night

Sends that melody fluttering back

The mountains echo, striking straight at my heart

Looking back on the road I’ve traveled

The green hills stretch wide

The hardships of this half-life

Turn into sweet tears at twilight

Reason: If “growing old together” has a face, Taurus is the first sign that comes to mind. Their love may be low-key and a bit plain, short on passion and romance, yet like aged wine it grows more fragrant with time. After the hardships, what lingers is the rich bouquet.

Gemini — "The Heart of the Lotus"

I

Am a summer lotus in full bloom

How I wish

You could see me now

The frost and wind have not yet scoured me

The autumn rain has yet to fall

The green season has already drifted far from me

I stand tall

Neither anxious

Nor afraid

Now

Is exactly

My most beautiful moment

The heavy gates are shut tight

Behind a fragrant smile

Who can know my lotus heart

You, destined to miss me

Arrive either too early

Or too late

Reason: People often say Geminis are sentimental and changeable; even if their current relationship brings pain, they can quickly turn it into a stepping stone to the next romance. That may sound harsh, because love is always mutual. Their changeability may simply mean your connection wasn’t deep enough—just as what seems sentimental or steadfast can depend on where you stand.

Cancer — "Youth"

All endings have been written

All tears have set out

Yet suddenly I forget how it all began

On that ancient summer that will never return

No matter how I pursue

The young you only brushed past like a shadow

And your smiling face is so faint and slight

Gradually fading into the clouds of the future

So I turn the yellowed pages

Fate has bound it so clumsily

With tears, I read it over and over

Yet I must admit

Youth is a book written too hastily

Reason: Cancer wears a hard shell, but inside is a soft, deep heart. Love holds an outsized place in Cancer’s life—though they often won’t admit it. Like moonlight, it may seem cool, yet it’s gentle and delicate. For Cancer, youth is a book written too fast: full of feeling and memories they long to revisit, but they don’t know where to begin.

Leo — "Distance"

We stand on two high ridges

Too far apart to see each other

Yet I can hear your gentle voice

Through swirling clouds and steep valleys

Careful, you say, we are on

A ridge where a single misstep is unforgivable

So even across such distance

You still refuse to indulge me, always guarding

The rules set on that youthful night

Careful, you say

We cannot afford to make a wrong step

But sometimes

The strict you suddenly forget

And turn back to ask eagerly

About that year’s lotus and the mountain moon’s trace

And how can I answer you

The forest fire has burned out, the mournful wind rises

My tight-throated heart finally falls from the heights

You still remind me, still say

Careful, we

We cannot afford to make a wrong step

All the years have turned into

A mythic illusion, let it

Be green grass and blooming flowers

Yet they will eventually fall

In the vertigo of falling

Who can give me a satisfying answer

Farewell, oh

You, isolated on the high ridge

If it was a mistake from the start

Then why

Why was it so beautifully wrong

Reason: Proud Leo naturally craves a partner’s respect and admiration. Though focused and loyal in love, not everyone can play the devoted follower. Leaders are fated to be lonely; even if the end is a desolate parting, it can’t erase the brilliance of the beginning.

Virgo — "A Flowering Tree"

How can I let you meet me

At my most beautiful moment

For this

I prayed before the Buddha for five hundred years

Asking the Buddha to grant us a fleeting brush of fate

So the Buddha turned me into a tree

Growing by the path you must take

In the sunlight

Cautiously blooming with flowers

Each one my longing from a past life

When you come near

Please listen closely

The trembling leaves

Are my waiting heart

And when you finally walk past indifferently

Behind you falls a ground full of

Friends, oh

Those are not petals

That is my withering heart

Reason: Perfection-seeking Virgo, with their reserve, critical eye, and love of order, often finds it hard to form close bonds. At times, Virgo resembles that bodhi tree waiting for love—silently waiting for the Buddha to pass—only to fade, leaving a lifetime of loneliness. In truth, Virgos are not cold; their deep feelings become trembling leaves in the long wait, too scattered to be noticed.

Libra — "Farewell"

Not every dream comes true in time

Not every word can be said to you

Guilt and regret

Are always planted deep in the heart after parting

Though they say

All things in this world

Will ultimately turn to nothing

I never intended to miss things

But I

Have always done exactly that

Missing the yesterday full of blossoms

And now missing today

Today

Still repeats the same farewell

The rest of my life will pass me by like a stranger

A thousand miles away

In the twilight

I bow deeply to you

Please take care of yourself

Though they say

All things in this world

Will ultimately

Will ultimately turn to nothing

Reason: Among the twelve signs, Libra needs a “companion” the most. Elegant and charming, they rarely lack company. But because balance is their totem, they may struggle to distinguish friend from lover. Unwilling to be alone, they often accept others’ feelings before they’re ready, yet find it hard to deepen the bond—so Libra’s love life is full of near-misses.

Scorpio — "Youth Without Regrets"

In youth, if you fall in love with someone

Please treat her gently

No matter how long or short your love lasts

If you can always treat each other gently

Then every moment will be flawlessly beautiful

If you must part, say goodbye properly

And keep gratitude in your heart

Thank her for the memory she gave you

When you grow up, you will understand

In a sudden moment of reflection

A youth without resentment will have no regrets

Like the quiet evening moon on the hill

Reason: Of all twelve signs, Scorpio loves with the greatest intensity. In romance they are passionate, devoted, and enduring—but once jealousy is triggered, it can be destructive. Learning to master their emotions is essential, especially when facing relationship storms. As the poem says: “When you grow up, you will understand / In a sudden moment of reflection / A youth without resentment will have no regrets.”

Sagittarius — "Wild Wind"

Let’s lower our heads and say goodbye

Is there anything in this world that truly turns back?

Like the autumn grassland agreeing

To wither together

Let’s make an agreement

To forget each other

Only the wild wind will never cease

Always anxious, sweeping through the forest

Along mountain paths, at unfamiliar street corners

Brushing my mottled heart

Brushing memories that fall like autumn leaves

Reason: Free-spirited and passionate, Sagittarius is like wind on the prairie—envied for their unbridled nature. But as a lover, one can’t help but wonder whether that untamed heart can be held. A reminder for Sagittarius: you can choose the life you want, but some choices are hard to undo.

Capricorn — "Mountain Path"

It seems I promised you

I’d walk with you

On that beautiful mountain path

You said that slope was lined with new tea

And delicate acacia

It seems I promised you

On a far-off spring afternoon

And tonight, under the lamp

Combing my graying hair

I suddenly remember some promises that couldn’t be kept

Some inexplicable sadness

On that mountain path

Is the young you still waiting for me?

Still eagerly looking back the way you came?

Reason: Traditional and practical, Capricorn values promises most. Their romance and passion often need time to be proved and to grow. Sadly, promises can’t always withstand lies, and commitments can fade with time—leaving some vows unfulfilled. Then again, whose life is without regrets?

Aquarius — "Lonely Star"

In the sky

There is a lonely star

A traveler in the night

Will often look back

Imagining that it is his first

First love

Reason: Aquarius deeply dislikes constraints; even in marriage, they need room to be themselves. Even with a gentle, understanding partner, they prize solitude and dislike interference, because for them, loneliness is a kind of art. Like a traveler on a solitary road, revisiting a missed first love may feel bittersweet to others—but to Aquarius, it can be a quiet joy.

Pisces — "The Illusion and Reality of Tragedy"

If we had truly grown old, at this moment

When we meet again, how could my heart

Still surge with such joy?

So when you hesitate to look back

It isn’t truly forgetting

If you had really forgotten, under the moonlight

How could your eyes be so tender?

But it seems you don’t really care

If you truly missed me that much

How could you shake my hand lightly and say goodbye

Then quietly watch me

Again and again

Leave?

Reason: Those born under Pisces are the most gentle and sentimental. Their softness draws care from others, but their rich imagination makes them easy to enamor—sometimes over a single word or fleeting glance—blurring the line between illusion and reality. A reminder for Pisces: you’re not the tragic heroine on a stage; no matter how beautiful the love, the curtain must still fall.