5月9日

長安羈旅行
唐 孟郊 ( 751~814 )

十日一理髮，每梳飛旅塵；
三旬九過飲，每食唯舊貧。
萬物皆及時，獨余不覺春；
失名誰肯訪，得意爭相親。
直木有恬翼，靜流無躁鱗；
始知喧競場，莫處君子身。
野策藤竹輕，山蔬薇蕨新；
潛歌歸去來，事外風景真。

──選自《全唐詩》

May 9

Living Away in Chang'An
Meng Jiao (751 - 814, Tang Dynasty)
English translation: Miao Guang

I comb my hair only once every ten days,
A heap of dirt flying from each brush;
Not one drink until after a month’s time,
Each meal coarse as usual but fine.
All matters must be timely,
Except for unawareness of the approaching spring.
Who is willing to touch on the depressed?
Only contending to be near the prosperous.
Living on erect trees are joyful birds,
Yet serene rivers are no home to restless fish.
Hiking in the wild with a bamboo stick,
Feeding on wild vegetables and herbs afresh;
Silent humming of returning home,
The scenery realistic only to an outsider.

── from Quan Tang Shi (Complete Collection of Tang Poems)