On a road outreaching the white clouds,
By a spring outrunning the bluest river,
Petals come drifting on the wind
And the brook is sweet with them all the way.
My quiet gate is a mountain-trail,
And the willow-trees about my cottage
Sift on my sleeve, through the shadowy noon,
Distillations of the sun.
Original Poem:
「阙题」
刘眘虚
道由白云尽，春与清溪长。
时有落花至，远随流水香。
闲门向山路，深柳读书堂。
幽映每白日，清辉照衣裳。
Interpretation:
This poem is about the writer's hermitage in Taoyuan Mountain and his retired and leisurely mood.
The first two lines: The winding mountain path stretches from the end of the white clouds, and the long stream is lined with the beauty of spring on both sides.
The long winding mountain road ends at the end of the white clouds, and all the way along the clear brook, both sides of the brook are full of flowers and luxuriant grass, everywhere is full of vitality, spring has a concrete image.
The third and fourth lines: From time to time, there are fallen flowers drifting with the stream, and the fragrance in the water can be smelled from afar.
From time to time, flower petals fall on the water in the clear stream and float down with the water, emitting a wisp of fragrance. It seems to be just writing the scenery, but it is the scenery of the poet's hermitage, thus implying the poet's life and feelings.
The fifth and sixth lines: the quiet Jingmen facing the winding mountain road, reading hall hidden in the dense willow forest.
All the way walking, all the way viewing, villa finally appeared in front of us. The master clearly hobby mountain view, so the door and set toward the mountain road. Into the door, the yard planted many willows, long stripes fluttering, the master of the reading hall is hidden in the shadow of the willow. It turned out that this master was concentrating on his studies in the mountains.
The last two lines: Whenever the sunlight passes through the willow-shaded seclusion, the light of seclusion sprinkles my clothes.
The poet still describes the villa only in terms of its light. Because the mountains are deep and the forests are dense, so even in the daytime, there is a piece of tranquil light scattered on the top of the clothes. The quietness of the environment and the comfort of the climate are really the best place to concentrate on reading. Here, the poem ends abruptly, leaving the reader room for thought and adding to the flavor of the poem.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
About the poet:
Liu Shen-xu (刘眘虚), whose date of birth and death are unknown, was a native of Fengxin, Jiangxi Province. He was one of the "Four Friends of Wuzhong", together with He Zhizhang, Bao Rong and Zhang Xu. In 723 AD, he was admitted as a jinshi. He was fond of traveling with mountain monks and Taoist priests, but he lived in exile and did not live long. His poetic style was quite close to that of Meng Haoran.
