杜甫 宿府 translation: Staying at the Yamen, by Du Fu
This is a very rough annotation of the poem 宿府 (Sù Fǔ), ‘Staying at the Yamen’, by the Tang Dynasty Chinese poet 杜甫 (Dù Fǔ).
This is completely my guess work and may be far from the actual meaning of this poem. If you have any suggestions, please share them in the comments at the end of the page.
宿府 Sù Fǔ [stay at] [yamen] Staying at the Yamen
清秋幕府井梧寒， Qīngqiū mùfǔ jǐng wú hán, [clear] [autumn] [tent] [official residence] [well] [parasol tree] [cold] In crisp autumn, the parasol tree by the yamen well shivers in the cold;
獨宿江城蠟炬殘。 dú sù jiāngchéng là jù cán. [alone] [stay] [river] [city] [candle] [torch] [spoil] staying alone in the river city, the candle burning down.
永夜角聲悲自語， Yǒng yè jiǎo shēng bēi zì yǔ, [eternal] [night] [corner] [sound] [sorrow] [self] [speak] In this eternal night, the sound of flute - one mournfully speaks to oneself;
中天月色好誰看？ zhōng tiān yuè sè hǎo shuí kàn? [mid] [sky] [moon] [colour] [good] [who] [see] in the sky a bright moon, but who can appreciate it?
風塵荏苒音書絕， Fēngchén rěnrǎn yīn shū jué, [wind] [dust] [passing of time][] [sound] [book] [cut off] The vicissitudes of life are fleeting - voices and writings are cut off; (i.e. connections with others are broken off.)
關塞蕭條行路難。 guānsài xiāotiáo xínglù nán. [mountain pass][] [desolate][] [go] [road] [hard] the mountain pass is desolate, travel is hard.
己忍伶俜十年事， Jǐ rěn líng pīng shí nián shì, [self] [endure] [lonely][] [ten] [year] [issues] One has endured in loneliness, ten years of work;
強移棲息一枝安。 qiǎng yí qīxi yīzhī ān. [strive] [move] [perch][] [one] [stick] [peace] one strives to move to one perch for peace.
If you have any suggestions, please share them in the comments below.
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