By riverside you see lovers part on fine day;
They cling together but they cannot make spring stay.
Your catkins waft in the breeze when your branches sway,
Could you retain those who are going far away?
Original Poem:
「柳二首 · 其一」
罗隐
灞岸晴来送别频，相偎相依不胜春。
自家飞絮犹无定，争解垂丝绊路人？
Interpretation:
Luo Yin's poem organically unites the two images of farewell and prostitute to form a new poetic realm.
The first two lines: The Ba bank on a sunny day is frequently used for sending off, with willow trees clinging to each other in spring.
At that time, it was east of Chang'an city, and people at that time often sent off their lovers here. In the thick spring wind, the willows were weak, and the branches were holding each other, with a curvy posture and infinite flavor.
The last two sentences: free and easy to flutter willow flakes but no fixed place, how to know why unraveling hanging silk to trip the passers-by?
In spring, the willow blossoms are dotted and soar with the wind, fluttering east and west, floating without a master. This kind of imagery easily makes us associate it with the image of a prostitute. In this scenario, recalling the above “snuggling together”, the author asked with no small amount of emotion: “Could you retain those who are going far away? This question is quite intriguing, but the meaning is also quite difficult to find out. Is it sympathy? Is it sympathy? The reader is free to experience it.
Poem translator:
Xu Yuan-chong (许渊冲)
About the poet:
Luo Yin (罗隐), 833-909 AD, was a poet of the Tang Dynasty, a native of Hangzhou. His poems have the spirit of entering the world by facing the reality and life directly, bravely fighting against the darkness of the society with his poetic pen, attacking the bad government of the society, reflecting the hardship of the people in the society and expressing his personal hardships.
