孟郊诗

Poems of Meng Jiao


Index

忆江南弟

Remembering My Jiangnan Younger Brothers


白首眼垂血
望尔唯梦中
筋力强起时
魂魄犹在东

White-headed, red-eyed,
I gaze upon you only in my dreams.
My strength is still with me at times
But my soul remains in the east.

眼光寄明星
起来东望空
望空不见人
江海波无穷

Your eyes shine in the bright stars when
I rise and gaze up at the eastern sky.
Gazing in vain, I don't see any people --
Only rivers flowing endlessly to the sea

衰老无气力
呼叫不成风
孑然忆忆言
落地何由通

Growing old, without inner strength.
Hollering, from time to time, or
Alone, remembering what was said, or
Falling to the ground -- can you understand?

常师共被教
竟作生离翁
生离不可诉
上天何曾聪

We were taught by the same master
But in the end I'm an isolated old man.
Isolation -- I can't talk about it.
But dying? What good would that have been?

未忍对松柏
自鞭残朽躬
自鞭亦何益
知教非所崇

I can't bear to face your honest virtue.
So I punish this decaying rotten body.
Punishing myself is also useless.
You learn it never really lifts you up.

努力拄杖来
馀活与尔同
不然死后耻
遗死亦有终

Working hard to walk with a cane now.
Plenty of life left and my bonds with you.
I won't be ashamed after I die.
Leaving death behind is also an end.

-- 孟郊


废话

This poem is certainly miscollated in the scrolls. It belongs near the end. Meng Jiao is remembering the young monks he studied with in middle age. It's a private poem, I think. And one that needs no help from me.


Index