Lu Yu: Autumn Sounds

 

Autumn Sounds

 

秋 声
人 言 悲 秋 难 为 情
我 喜 枕 上 闻 秋 声。
快 鹰 下 瓜 觜 健
壮 士 抚 剑 精 神 生。
我 亦 奋 迅 起 衰 病
唾 手 便 有 擒 胡 兴。
弦 开 雁 落 诗 亦 成
笔 力 未 饶 弓 力 劲。
五 原 草 枯 苜 蓿 空
青 海 萧 萧 风 卷 蓬。
草 罢 捷 书 重 上 马
却 从 銮 驾 下 辽 东。
Qiu Sheng

Ren yan bei qiu nan wei qing
Wo xi zhen shang wen qiu sheng.
Kuai ying xia gou gua zi jian
Zhuang shi fu jian jing shen sheng.

Wo yi fen xun qi shuai bing
Tuo shou bian you qin hu xing.
Xian kai yan luo shi yi cheng
Bi li wei rao gong li jin.

Wu yuan cao ku mu xi kong
Qing hai xiao xiao feng juan peng.
Cao ba jie shu chong shang ma
Que cong luan jia xia liao dong.

 

Autumn Sounds

Compassionate words difficult to assuage the sadness of autumn
My happiness from the comfort of hearing natural fall sounds.
Swift and strong hawks on leather sleeves peck and claw at melons
Zhuang scholars foster the martial arts and a spiritual life.

I also vigorously and quickly arise from declining health
Spit into my hands, easy to start the capture of northern nomads.
Poems produced like bringing down flying geese with bowstrings.
Writing brush force not yet matching the bow’s power and strength.

Five meadow grasses and withered alfalfa unoccupied
Blue ocean, rustling wind sounds sweep along the scrolled and tangled.
Again the horse stops for grass, prompting more writing
Later raising his head, harness tinkling bells with the eastern sky far away.

 

Notes:

Leather sleeves were used both by archers and hawkers.