孟郊诗

Poems of Meng Jiao


Index

酬李侍御书记秋夕雨中病假见寄

A poem sent to Secretary Li Shiyu, thanking him for visiting me when I was sick on a rainy autumn evening


秋风绕衰柳
远客闻雨声
重兹阻良夕
孤坐唯积诚

Autumn wind in the bare willows
As a distant guest is heard above the rain.
A heaviness obscured the goodness of evening
As I sat alone, only thinking of sincerity.

果枉移疾咏
中含嘉虑明
洗涤烦浊尽
视听昭旷生

As injustice moved me to chant a sickly poem,
You came and restored joy, worries vanished.
You washed away troubles and confusion,
Restoring clarity and freedom to my senses.

未觉衾枕倦
久为章奏婴
达人不宝药
所保在闲情

Still in bed, no longer tired,
For a long while I read you my new poems.
Wise men don't so much value medicine
As they treasure this leisurely mood.

-- 孟郊


废话

It seems as everything in this poem is written in idiom and allusion. So this translation tries to say, in simple terms, what Meng Jiao wrote to his friend. You will notice that Meng Jiao's friends all seem to have mid- to high-level titles. This reaffirms to me the esteem he was held in and the influence his poetry had within the empire.


Index