《食罷》白居易(772-846)
《After a Meal》Bai Juyi(772-846)
食罷一覺睡 Taking a nap after a meal
起來兩甌茶 Getting up later and have two bowls of tea
舉頭看日影 I raise my head to watch the sun light
已复西南斜 Toward the southwest the sun has reclined Continue reading
《食罷》白居易(772-846)
《After a Meal》Bai Juyi(772-846)
食罷一覺睡 Taking a nap after a meal
起來兩甌茶 Getting up later and have two bowls of tea
舉頭看日影 I raise my head to watch the sun light
已复西南斜 Toward the southwest the sun has reclined Continue reading
《琴茶》白居易 (772-846) 《Music and Tea》Bai Juyi
兀兀寄形群動內 To community activities I participate in delight
陶陶任性一生間 Happy always I take charge of all affairs in life
自拋官後春多醉 Retiring from office I drink high in spring days
不讀書來老更閑 Reading not often in old age leisure leads the way Continue reading
Lone Hill north looks on the Jia Pavilion east
Beneath low clouds the lake water brims at ease
On the sun-warmed trees orioles compete to trill
With mud in beak to where goes the swallow
Seeing so many flowers my eyes are dazzled
On the short grass soft banks horse hooves show
How can I stroll the east bank enough I love so
Under green willow shades the White Sand Dyke glows
As the BianRiver slowly flows
So is the Si River chattily goes
They reach the ancient dock at Gua Zhou
The distant hills in the south mark my sorrows
My longings continue to show
So do my complaints endlessly go
They will cease whence my love returns to me
Now I stand alone on moonlit balcony
Continue reading
人間四月芳菲盡 山寺桃花始盛開
長恨春歸無覓處 不知轉入此中來
Peach Blossom at Da Lin Temple 江紹倫譯
By the fourth moon flowers everywhere are all but fallen
Here on temple ground peach flowers only begin to blossom
I oft regret when spring is gone it leaves no trace
Knowing not it has come to adorn this place
離離原上草 一歲一枯榮
野火燒不盡 春風吹又生
遠芳侵古道 晴翠接荒城
又送王孫去 萋萋滿別情
Farewell by the Ancient Grass Plain 江紹倫譯
Grass grow on this ancient plain wide and far
They thrive and wither once every year
Heath fires burn but in vain
A touch of vernal breeze they thrive again
Their fragrance penetrate paths swept by wind
They adjoin towns in ruin bright and green
I’ve come to bid you farewell once again
Grief overwhelm like wild grass on plain
《燕詩示劉叟》 (唐)白居易
梁上有雙燕 翩翩雄與雌 銜泥兩椽間 一巢生四兒
四兒日夜長 索食聲孜孜 青蟲不易捕 黃口無飽期
觜爪雖欲敝 心力不知疲 須臾十來往 猶恐巢中饑
辛勤三十日 母瘦雛漸肥 喃喃教言語 一一刷毛衣
一旦羽翼成 引上庭樹枝 舉翅不回顧 隨風四散飛
雌雄空中鳴 聲盡呼不歸 卻入空巢裏 啁啾終夜悲
燕燕爾勿悲 爾當返自思 思爾為雛日 高飛背母時
當時父母念 今日爾應知
Swallow Song 江紹倫譯
A pair of swallows above our girder appear
A she bird and a he bird together they fair
For a new nest they bring bits of mud and fibre with their beaks
Soon four chicks are hedged in it so neat
The foursome baby birds grow day and night
They plead for nourishment tweeting with mouths wide
Fresh worms are far away and not easy to catch
The opening mouths are ne’er fully fed
Beaks and claws of parent birds are worn out approaching defeat
But caring ma and pa care not their own fatigue
They busy in relay rounds to fetch food without rest
The hunger of their nestlings must not go through any test
After a month of such laborious tasks complete
To teach baby birds to chirp and call is no small feat
The fletching feathers also need be cleaned with mum’s beak
As soon as baby birds get ready to fly
They need be coaxed to take position on tree branches near by
Off they fly with no time for looks to linger
The dispersed birds on wings seen no longer
The parents search in the air calling their young anxiously
Not a single baby bird returns home knowingly
To the empty nest mother and father their love prolong
They twitter grief all night long
Swallow swallow you needn’t harbour any regret
To your own childhood days you must reflect
Remember those happy days you were growing up
You did also leave your parents to freely fly and hop
How your parents cared to be with you in anguish
The same caring you now know too late to appease your parents howe’er you wish
早蛩啼复歇 残灯灭又明
隔窗知夜雨 芭蕉先有声
Rain At Night tr. By K.C. Lee
Intermittently the anticipating morning insects twitter,
On and off the remaining evening lights flicker.
Pouring night rain imposes its presence through shuttered windows,
Heralded by pattering on broad leaf plants out in the meadows.
繞池閒步看魚遊,
正值兒童弄釣舟。
一種愛魚心各異,
我來施食爾垂鉤。
Looking at Fishes Po Chu-I (772-846) tr by Father John Turner, S.J.
As all around the pool I went,
Watching the fishes glide:
In fishing-boat on fishing bent
My little ones I spied.
The love of fish did each one lead
As each one’s fancy took him.
For I came out my fish to feed:
And you came out to hook him.