10月26日

茅屋為秋風所破歌
唐 杜甫 ( 712~770 )

八月秋高風怒號，卷我屋上三重茅。
茅飛渡江灑江郊，高者掛罥長林梢，下者飄轉沉塘坳。
南村群童欺我老無力，忍能對面為盜賊。
公然抱茅入竹去，唇焦口燥呼不得，歸來倚杖自嘆息。
俄頃風定雲墨色，秋天漠漠向昏黑。
布衾多年冷似鐵，驕兒惡臥踏裡裂。
床頭屋漏無乾處，雨腳如麻未斷絕。
自經喪亂少睡眠，長夜沾濕何由徹！
安得廣廈千萬間，大庇天下寒士俱歡顏，
風雨不動安如山！
嗚呼！何時眼前突兀見此屋，吾廬獨破受凍死亦足！

──選自《全唐詩》

October 26

Song of a Thatched Hut Damaged by the Wind
Du Fu (712 - 770, Tang Dynasty)
English translation: Zhi Yue

The high winds of the August autumn roar angrily,
    sweeping away three levels of thatches from my rooftop.
Away they fly, scattering across the river,
The higher ones are caught and suspended upon the treetops;
While the lower ones float and then sink
    into the crevices of the embankment.
A group of children from the Southern Village
    take advantage of my old and feeble age,
    turning into plundering thieves before my eyes;
Unabashedly seizing the thatches,
    they scurry into the bamboo forest.
I yell at them hoarsely, but all was in vain,
    returning home by hobbling on my cane, sighing to myself.
Suddenly, the winds stop but the clouds darkened,
    the autumn sky silently turning into a gloomy twilight.
My quilt has been like cold iron for many years,
    its lining had been trampled by spoilt children during sleep.
The ceiling over my bedside leaks everywhere,
    without a dry spot in sight,
The raindrops keep falling like non-stop sesame.
Ever since the political disturbance,
    seldom have I been able to sleep,
How now will I ever pass this long damp night?
How I wish there were thousand of homes to give shelter
    and bring happiness to those in the cold;
When the winds and the rain stop,
    they will be unmovable as mountains!
Alas! When I see these lofty houses before me,
I will feel contented with my lonely damaged hut
    that has made me freeze to death.

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