Notes of Village Life
translated from 村居雜詩 by 元·劉因 (Liu Yin, Yuan Dysnasty of China)
其一
鄰翁走相報,隔窗呼我起。數日不見山,今朝翠如洗。
Note One
I was aroused by the old man next door
hastily carrying a news to report;
The hill outside became estranged
but freshly green as I saw.
其二
黃昏雨氣濃,喜色滿南畝。誰知一夜風,吹放門前柳。
Note Two
Late in the dawn it’s nearly rainy
and farmers felt pleased and happy;
but in the night only came a wind to blow
passed my house and brought down a willow .
其三
獨立偶懷古,臨風還自傷。一聲樵唱起,回首暮山蒼。
Note Three
I grieved over times that have passed,
a wind came and left me alone and groaned;
there a woodman sang a song
that collected myself by the shining hill at dusk.
其四
削樹題詩句,畫沙知酒籌。他年成故事,蕭散更風流。
Note Four
It became a story – that we wrote poems
on a peeled tree – that we played casual games
to decide who to drink wine – but not to compare
today – that it aged but also unbound us.
Translator: Li Daitao