Going to Visit the Daoist Master on Daitian Mountain But Not Finding Him
李白《訪戴天山道士不遇》
Li Bai (701-762 CE)
A dog barks
amidst the sound of water;
peach blossoms
hang heavy with dewdrops.
犬吠水聲中， 桃花帶露濃。
In the deep forest
I glimpse a passing deer;
the rushing brook
muffles the noonday bells.
樹深時見鹿， 溪午不聞鐘。
Wild bamboos
slice through the green mist;
streams in flight
hang between emerald peaks.
野竹分青靄， 飛泉掛碧峰。
Nobody knows
where the master has gone—
left to wonder,
I rest among some pines.
無人知所去， 愁倚兩三松。
Farewell at a Jinling Tavern 金陵酒肆留別
Li Bai (701-762 CE)
The wind blows catkins off the willows;
their fragrance fills the tavern.
Our hostess brings the guests new wine
she urges us to savor.
風吹柳花滿店香，吳姬壓酒喚客嘗。
Young friends from Jinling came today
to drink and see me off.
I must leave, and they must stay—
we let our last cups linger.
金陵子弟來相送，欲行不行各盡觴。
Friends, let’s ask the water flowing
far away to the east:
The river, or sadness of farewell—
which of the two is longer?
請君試問東流水，別意與之誰短長。
Overnight in the Pavilion by the River
宿江邊閣
Du Fu (712-770 CE)
As evening approaches
along the mountain paths
I come to my chamber
above the Water Gate.
暝色延山徑，高齋次水門。
Wisps of cloud
rest on the edges of cliffs;
a lonely moon
slowly turns in the waves.
薄雲岩際宿，孤月浪中翻。
A line of cranes
flies past on its silent hunt;
a pack of wolves
howls around its prey.
鸛鶴追飛靜，豺狼得食喧。
I cannot sleep,
plagued by thoughts of war,
and powerless
to spare the world its fate.
不眠憂戰伐，無力正乾坤。
Missing My Little Son
(Pony Boy)
Du Fu (712-770 CE)
憶幼子
杜甫
It’s spring, and still
you're away, my Pony Boy,
while the days grow warm
and birdsong swells to crescendo.
驥子春猶隔，鶯歌暖正繁。
This change of season
cuts like a new farewell—
now who do I have
to share my bits of wisdom?
別離驚節換，聰慧與誰論。
The stream runs free
alongside the empty path,
from village gate
down into distant shadow;
澗水空山道，柴門老樹村。
My torrent of sadness
will drain away in my dreams
while my back is warmed
by spring sun through my window.
憶渠愁只睡，炙背俯晴軒。
Moonlit Night
Du Fu (712-770 CE)
月夜
Tonight the moon
is also full in Fuzhou,
where my wife can only
wait and watch alone.
今夜鄜（fū）州月， 閨中只獨看。
I’m sad to think
of my little sons and daughters,
too young to know
why I’m far away in Changan.
遙憐小兒女， 未解憶長安。
Her cloud of hair
must be damp from the scented mist,
her jade-white arms
chilled as the light pours down.
香霧雲鬟濕， 清輝玉臂寒。
When will we both
lean at the open window,
drying our tears
in the glow of an autumn moon?
何時倚虛幌（huǎng）， 雙照淚痕幹。
On the Heights
Du Fu (712-770 CE)
登高
The wind is keen and the sky wide,
apes howl mournfully;
the islet is clear and its sand white,
birds wheel round and round.
風急天高猿嘯哀，渚清沙白鳥飛回。
In the boundless forest swirling leaves
go rustling, rustling by;
down the endless river surging waves
come rolling, rolling, on.
無邊落木蕭蕭下，不盡長江滾滾來。
I am a constant traveler
this melancholy autumn—
an old man now, racked by sickness,
I scale these heights alone.
萬里悲秋常作客，百年多病獨登臺。
This life, so hard, full of bitter pain,
has turned my hair to frost,
left me so poor that my last cup
of cloudy wine is gone.
艱難苦恨繁霜鬢，潦倒新停濁酒杯。
Thoughts Written While Traveling By Night
Du Fu (712-770 CE)
旅夜書懷 杜甫
The fine grass
by the riverbank stirs in the breeze;
the tall mast
in the night is a lonely sliver.
細草微風岸，危檣獨夜舟。
Stars hang
all across the vast plain;
the moon bobs
in the flow of the great river.
星垂平野闊，月湧大江流。
My poetry
has not made a name for me;
now age and sickness
have cost me the post I was given.
名豈文章著，官應老病休。
Drifting, drifting,
what do I resemble?
A lone gull
lost between earth and heaven.
飄飄何所似？天地一沙鷗。
