[updated October 2022]
Willow Trees Long-Lined Poem
柳 长 句
日 落 水 流 西 复 东
春 光 不 尽 柳 何 穷。
巫 娥 庙 里 低 含 雨
宋 玉 宅 前 斜 带 风。
莫 将 榆 荚 共 争 翠
深 感 杏 花 相 映 红。
灞 上 汉 南 千 万 树
几 人 游 宦 别 离 中。
Liu Chang Ju
Ri luo shui liu xi fu dong
Chun guang bu jin liu he qiong.
Wu e miao li di han yu
Song yu zhai qian xie dai feng.
Mo jiang yu jia gong zheng cui
Shen gan xing hua xiang ying hong.
Ba shang han nan qian qan shu
Ji ren you huan bie li zhong.
Willow Trees Long-Lined Poem
Sunset river water flows west, then turns around to go east
Annual spring scenery with willow trees everywhere.
Mt. Wu temple willows hang low with rain
In front of Song Yu’s house, they bend and display the winds.
No one saves the elm tree pods, their emerald green leaves compete with the willows
Deep gratitude, apricot blossoms reflect each other’s red hues.
Along riverbanks, thousands of southern Han trees
Wonder how many people suffer the travels of officialdom and their departures.
Notes:
Song Yu: (420-479) Noted poet whose work can be found in the Verses (or Songs) of Chu. Remembered today for his poems that develop the themes of Nature with Pathos, as well as a source of many Chinese idioms.
Mt. Wu: Small mountain range in northwest Hubei Province. Location of many Daoist temple and monasteries.