Dare I, at my age, accept my summons,
Knowing of the world's ways only wine and song?...
Over the moon-edged river come wildgeese from the Tartars;
And the thinner the leaves along the Huai, the wider the southern mountains...
I ought to be glad to take my old bones back to the capital,
But what am I good for in that world, with my few white hairs?...
As bent and decrepit as you are, I am ashamed to thank you,
When you caution me that I may encounter thunderbolts.
Original Poem:
「江州重别薛六柳八二员外」
刘长卿
生涯岂料承优诏，世事空知学醉歌。
江上月明胡雁过，淮南木落楚山多。
寄身且喜沧洲近，顾影无如白发何！
今日龙钟人共老，愧君犹遣慎风波。
Interpretation:
This poem is when Liu Zhangqing will be in Jiujiang to bid farewell to Xue, Liu two friends made, this time to banishment, so that he is happy to be able to temporarily host. Therefore, the poem reveals the complex mood of mixed feelings of sadness and happiness.
Long time drifting, the world has long been broken, the unforeseen good things, is nothing more than an illusory eunuchs floating. The poet just wants to wander the world, just want to get drunk and sing. The moon rising over the river, the geese flying in the night sky, the winds of autumn in Huainan, and the fading of the trees are all seen in Jiujiang. These two lines write about the autumn night scene of Jiujiang, a bleak realm, reflecting his mood at that time.
The poet felt free and happy to be in this distant place, and even though his gray hairs were sprouting, he could not let himself be sad in vain, showing the poet’s joy of getting a place to stay. However, the next is to feel the melancholy of old age. The poet has already aged and is already in the gait of a dragon, but Xue Liu and Liu Ba two friends still advise him to be cautious of the storms of the world. The poet is ashamed and touched by this exhortation. The conclusion of the poem shows the true feelings of Xue and Liu’s friends for him.
The poem begins with a refrain that expresses the poet’s indignation: he has been in exile for many years, but now he has received a generous gift from the Son of Heaven! On the day of the poet’s relegation, when the geese were returning from Hu, and the leaves of Huainan were withering, the scene made the relegated person even more sentimental. The two lines of the neck line clearly show the poet’s resentment of being banished to a remote place. The last two lines of the poem express the poet’s gratitude to his two friends for their advice. The poem is a poignant scene, expressing the poet’s feelings of depression due to his relegation.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
