秋興八首 (其七) 杜甫

秋興八首 (其七)      杜甫  (712-770)

昆明池水漢時功，武帝旌旗在眼中。  

織女機絲虛夜月，石鯨鱗甲動秋風。   
波飄菰米沉雲黑，露冷蓮房墜粉紅。   
關塞極天惟鳥道，江湖滿地一漁翁。  

An Octet of Autumnal Melancholy (Poem No. 7)       

Du Fu (712-770)

The Kunming Pool where the naval army of Emperor Wu of Han was drilled,

The image of the Emperor’s imperial standard still awesomely thrills,
The sculpture of the Girl Weaver by the Pool had her days vainly spilled,
The stone whale with animated scales in the autumnal gale twirl,
Dark clouds in the sky sink while scattered wild rice stems on the waves mill,
Amidst the chilly dews lotus seeds have their pods filled while pink lotus flowers fall and wilt,
Free travelling in the tumultuous borders is hampered leaving only the tortuous trails to choose at will,
In such a big world there seems nowhere for this drifting forlorn gaffer on a boat to have a place to fill.