Wistful, away from my friends and kin,
Through mist and fog I float and float
With the sail that bears me toward Loyang.
In Yangzhou trees linger bell-notes of evening,
Marking the day and the place of our parting…
When shall we meet again and where?
…Destiny is a boat on the waves,
Borne to and fro, beyond our will.
Original Poem:
「初发扬子寄元大校书」
韦应物
凄凄去亲爱， 泛泛入烟雾。
归棹洛阳人， 残钟广陵树。
今朝为此别， 何处还相遇。
世事波上舟， 沿洄安得住。
Interpretation:
This poem was written by the poet when he was returning to Luoyang, passing through Yangzhou, and had just started his journey from Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, to bid farewell to his friend Yuan Da in Guangling. The poem expresses the feelings of parting and the lamentation of the changing world through the description of the poet’s unique scenery and feelings in the boat trip.
In the first two lines, the poet refers to his friend Yuan Da as “dear”, which shows that his feelings are very deep. When friends with deep feelings part, the mood is naturally very sad. The boat left the pier and set off, drifting in the smoke without end.
The third and fourth lines specifically explain the place of separation. The boat has departed, back to Luoyang to go to the poet also kept looking forward to the city of Guangling, the trees outside the city from clear to fuzzy, and suddenly heard in the city of Guangling used to hear the temple bell curling sound. Separation sadness, curling bells and the color of the trees outside the city are intertwined together, making the poet’s heart empty and confused.
The fifth and sixth lines explain that the object of this poem is “Yuanda”. Today in this place, Guangling City, where can we meet again? Separation has triggered deep sadness, and now I don’t know when and where we will meet again, which triggers another layer of sadness, thus emphasizing that it is not easy for friends to reunite, and at the same time, it also echoes the emotional tone of the third and fourth lines and the poet’s feelings, so that readers can deeply appreciate and understand the poet’s reluctance to part with his good friend.
The last two lines of the conclusion of the boat from the realization of the ordinary truth. Using the rowing boat as a comparison, the wave never stops, the boat is never still, on the current or downstream, or against the current, lamented the future overwhelmed.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
About the poet:
Wei Yingwu (韦应物), circa 737 – 786, was a native of Chang’an, Beijing. His poems were collected in the Wei Suzhou Collection, which included poems concerned with the plight of the people, expressions of disobedience to the times and indignation against the world, and descriptions of idyllic landscapes, etc., of which the ones describing idyllic landscapes are the most famous, and have been sung by posterity in particular.
