Gone with yellow chrysanthemums last year,
You come back when cicada's song I hear.
Your soughing wakes me from dreams at midnight,
A year's wrinkles are seen in mirror bright.
Steeds missing frontier grass with bristles rise;
Eagles longing for clouds open sleepy eyes.
I'll gaze my fill into the boundless sky;
Though ill, for you I'll mount the tower high.
Original Poem:
「始闻秋风」
刘禹锡
昔看黄菊与君别，今听玄蝉我却回。
五夜飕飗枕前觉，一年颜状镜中来。
马思边草拳毛动，雕盼青云睡眼开。
天地肃清堪四望，为君扶病上高台。
Interpretation:
This is a high-pitched autumn song, expressing the poet's love for autumn.
In the first two lines, I said goodbye to the chrysanthemums and the autumn wind last year, but this year I heard the cicadas singing and returned again.
Another “I” is created, and when she returns to the earth, she goes to look for the poet who has been away for a long time. She fondly remembers the moment she parted from the poet last year when she was watching the yellow chrysanthemums, and now, once she hears the chirping of the cicadas, she returns to the poet's side to talk about her farewell.
The third and fourth lines: the winds of the fifth night chilled on the pillow, and my aging face was revealed in the mirror.
The poet said: five o'clock, the cool wind blowing, once heard this familiar sound, I know is “you” back, a year no see, “you” is still so strong and cool, and my aging face but in the mirror appeared, as if it was a conversation about parting feelings of the dialog.
The fifth and sixth sentences: the war horse misses the autumn grass of the border, his fist fur shrugs dramatically; the kite eagle sees the clear sky, and his eyes open abruptly.
Then here we turn to describe the scenery of the border fortress, and the spirit is suddenly uplifted.
The last two lines: Autumn heights are just right to look into the distance, and I climbed up to the high platform for you with my sick body.
The poet then meets the autumn wind on the high platform, looking around the image of the moral of the image is in the self-evident. The author's heroic spirit is not diminished, and he still goes up to the high platform, which shows his love for autumn and reflects the poet's will for self-improvement.
The majestic style and positive aesthetics of this poem written by Liu Yuxi in his later years is an artistic portrayal of a stubborn and enterprising spirit and character.
Poem translator:
Xu Yuan-chong (许渊冲)
About the poet:
Liu Yuxi(刘禹锡), 772 - 842 AD, was a native of Hebei. He was a progressive statesman and thinker in the middle of the Tang Dynasty, and a poet with unique achievements in this period. In his compositions, there is no lack of poems reflecting current affairs and the plight of the people.
