Solving 寂寞寒窗空守寡

It is said that famous poet Li Qingzhao, who lived during the Song dynasty, gave the following as the first half of a couplet, saying she would marry anyone who came up with an appropriate second half.

 

寂寞寒窗空守寡

 

However, no one managed to give an appropriate answer, so she never remarried.

 

As the 上联 (first half of the couplet) uses 宝盖头, I thought something using 草字头 or similar, where the 部首 is at the top will be better in similarity. Or where the 部首 is at the bottom, like 心. Or given that 宝盖头 came from 宅, something similar in meaning like 门 will be appropriate too. But given that couplets meant to be written out in a pair, there is also a need to consider the balance of the characters when written out, in terms of the number of strokes for each character. Either matching characters so that those with many strokes are side by side, or alternating.

There is also a need to match the intonation of the words used. Since the first half's pattern is 仄仄平平平平仄, the second half needs to be平平仄仄仄仄平.

 

I decided to give it a try, and my best attempt is:

 

思愁想愿怨恋悲

 

There are many others who have tried over the past thousand years (almost). Examples, taken from here and here, include:

 

梧桐朽枕枉相栖

 

俊俏佳人伥伶仃

休偕佳偶但依僧

伶仃佛侧倦作僧

荷花茎藕蓬莲苔

流浊清源污沧海

荷花莲芳葱芯茎

苦薄荒苑苛蕴芳

纤细红线终结缘

姣娇妙娥嬉媚婿

妖妍媚姐娱嫁婿

思恋悠怨总忘息

混沌滚泪溢浊溏

流沙河泮灌浊汤

远近达道过逍遥

惆怅忧怀怕忆情

How about giving it a try and posting your attempts in the comments? If I think of a better one, I will add it as a comment too!