柳
[明]杨慎
垂杨垂柳管[1]芳年[2]，
飞絮飞花媚远天[3]。
金距斗鸡[4]寒食后，
玉蛾[5]翻雪暖风前。
别离江上还河上，
抛掷[6]桥边与路边。
游子魂销青塞[7]月，
美人肠断翠楼烟。
注释：
[1]管：负责，这里指杨柳最先抽芽，迎来春天。
[2]芳年：美好的春天。
[3]媚远天：将春天点缀得更加妩媚。
[4]金距斗鸡：这里指柳树刚冒出的嫩黄色新芽，就像人们在斗鸡时套在鸡脚上的距刺。
[5]玉蛾：这里比喻一团一团的柳絮。
[6]抛掷：丢弃、弃置。
[7]青塞：边塞、边地。
The Willow
Yang Shen[1]
The weeping willow tree o’er fragrant spring holds sway;
Its yellow sprout looks like gold claw on Cold Food Day.[2]
Flower-like willow down enchants the boundless sky;
It flies like snow or moth of jade in warm wind high.
It weeps on seeing people part on river wide;
Its broken twigs are cast by the bridge or roadside.
My heart breaks ‘neath the moon on willowless frontier;
Severed by willow screen, my love sheds tear on tear.
注释：
[1]The poet won the first honor in imperial exam of 1511, and was banished to Yunnan for over thirty years.
[2]On Cold Food Day Chinese people used to take cold meals and visit their ancestral graveyard.
“Willow” is a seven-character regulated verse written by Yang Shen, a poet in the Ming Dynasty. The first couplet of this poem describes how the willow turns green early in the spring, ahead of the wind; the second couplet uses seasonal scenery related to the willow to continue to exaggerate the posture and appearance of the willow in spring; the third couplet takes a turn to describe the emotional connection between the willow and people; the last couplet follows the first couplet and extends it, turning from the tragic color of the willow to the tragic fate of people. The poem uses the Qi and Liang style, and each sentence revolves around the object of chanting. Each couplet is a group of eight sentences, which are clear, graceful and beautiful, and every word is natural, like pearls on a plate, flowing naturally.
