Thoughts conveyed by way of short verse
  May degrade in eccentricity.
 With bowed head, lonely and friendless.
  Face up, vast sky where all is free.
 Like one string stretched to perfect pitch,
  But lacking all resonancy.

NOTES: Earlier I posted a translation by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping, entitled A One-String Harp that was contained in The Art of Writing (Boston: Shambhala; p. 15) This, however, is my own translation. The original poem in Simplified Chinese is:

或讬言于短韵，对穷迹而孤兴。
俯寂寞而无友，仰寥廓而莫承。
譬偏弦之独张，含清唱而靡应。