蟬聲日暮 · Cicadas at Dusk

An original 古風 song for the sixth day — a summer courtyard at the turning hour between day and dusk: banana-leaf shadows cooling on rain-washed flagstones, dragonflies hovering over thin lotus stems, the stone well reflecting a pale sky. The cicadas cry is the last voice of the heat; when it fades, the first star rises in the ancient well's water.

Guzheng (古箏) takes the lead for the first time — its plucked slides and arpeggiated chords carry the sensation of that suspended, breathless moment before evening breaks the day's spell. Seven-character verse (七言), literary Chinese.

[引子] 芭蕉葉大雨初收， 古井苔深午氣浮。 一聲蟬起南枝上， 暑意未盡日已西。

[主歌一] 碧天高處雲堆白， 庭石無人熱氣收。 蜻蜓點水荷莖細， 薄翅輕揚暮色稠。

[主歌二] 廊下空花落無聲， 舊簾半卷風不動。 此時世界最寂靜， 只餘蟬聲入長空。

[副歌] 蟬鳴一陣又一陣， 似訴流年去不回。 日暮天邊霞漸薄， 涼意初生萬籟微。

[主歌三] 露從何處滴石砌， 夜氣漸涼衣袖知。 蟬聲漸斂入暗葉， 萬物無言自相依。

[尾聲] 一夏蟬鳴今夕歇， 長天寂寂月初升。 古井倒映星河影， 秋意未至已知秋。