Written in the fourth year of Xining. The author of this poem wrote a self composed poem while guarding Hangzhou in the fifth year of Yuanyou (1090). The title reads: “In the middle of Xining, Shi guarded this county, except for the night when he went straight to the capital hall. The prison chains were all full, and he could not return home at night. He wrote a poem on the wall, and now it has been twenty years! In addition to his decline, he later served as a county envoy, and after the night when he went through the night, the court affairs were bleak, and all three prisons were empty. He built his colleagues’ strength, not due to his incompetence, but because he was in harmony with the previous poem…” This is the “previous poem”, and the title is taken from the latter poem.
熙宁四年作。此诗作者于元祐五年（一〇九〇）守杭州时有自和诗，题云：“熙宁中，轼守此郡，除夜直都厅，囚系皆满，日暮不得返舍，因题一诗于壁，今二十年矣！衰病之余，后忝郡寄，再经除夜，庭事萧然，三圄皆空。盖同僚之力，非拙朽所致，因和前篇……。”这就是“前篇”，题目是我从作后题中摘出的。
苏轼·《除夜直都厅，囚系皆满。日暮不得返舍，因题一诗于壁。》
除日当早归，官事乃见留。
执笔对之泣，哀此系中囚。
小人营糇粮，堕网不知羞。
我亦恋薄禄，因循失归休。
不须论贤愚，均是为食谋。
谁能暂纵谴，闵默愧前修。
On Duty at Court on New Year’s Eve
Su Shi
On New Year’s Eve, I should go home early.
But am by official duties detained.
With tears in my eyes I hold my brush,
And feel sorry for those in chains.
The poor are trying to make their living,
But fall into the clutches of the law.
I, too, cling to an official job,
And carry on against my wish for rest.
What difference is there between myself
And those more ignorant than I?
Who can set them free for the time being?
Silently I bow my head in shame.
