薛涛诗
Poems of Xue Tao
Index
酬文使君
Thanks for the Books You Sent Me
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延英晓拜汉恩新 五马腾骧九陌尘 今日谢庭飞白雪 巴歌不复旧阳春 |
Let this morning linger as a sign of your new favor. Horses are galloping down the raised tracks in the fields. Today, in the entryway, all is flying snow but Hearing you again sing "Springtime" is more than I can hope for. |
-- 薛涛
废话
A lot is suggested here. But all is opaque to me. In the second line we have "five horses" and "nine paths." I can't imagine the numbers don't mean something. Nor can I imagine what they mean. "Five horses" can mean the punishment where your head and limbs are torn off by five horses. Not helpful here. The horses are actually prancing or leaping. Still no help. "Springtime" (阳春) is a song already old in Xue Tao's time. Not that I can sing it if you hum a few bars. Perhaps Xue Tao developed her literary friendships more deeply after Wei Gao's death, as she stayed on as district hostess. If that's what she did. All in all, it seems a romantic poem, with someone singing "Springtime" and a poem to send him on his way.