燕詩示劉叟 白居易

燕詩示劉叟            白居易(772-846)

题注：叟有愛子，背叟逃去，叟甚悲念之。 叟少年時，亦嘗如是。 

故作《燕詩》以諭之矣。 

樑上有雙燕，翩翩雄與雌。 銜泥兩椽間，一巢生四兒。
四兒日夜長，索食聲孜孜。 青蟲不易捕，黃口無飽期。
觜爪雖欲敝，心力不知疲。 須臾十來往，猶恐巢中飢。
辛勤三十日，母瘦雛漸肥。 喃喃教言語，一一刷毛衣。
一旦羽翼成，引上庭樹枝。 舉翅不回顧，隨風四散飛。
雌雄空中鳴，聲盡呼不歸。 卻入空巢裏，啁啾終夜悲。
燕燕爾勿悲，爾當返自思。 思爾爲雛日，高飛背母時。
當時父母念，今日爾應知。

A Swallows Poem to the Gaffer Liu         Bai Juyi (772-846)

A note on the title: the gaffer has a beloved son who betrayed and left his father. The gaffer himself did the same thing when he was young. To admonish him, I’ve written this poem.

Nesting on the beam are two swallows,

They are a daintily spoused couple,

To build their nest holding mud in their beaks between the balks they shuttle,

In their nest they nurse four baby swallows,

Everyday the babies grow,

Crying for food they strenuously trill,

But worms are difficult to get hold,

The babies seem to be insatiable,

Beaks and claws of the parents come to the verge of being crackled,

But they still try to do their utmost,

Anon a dozen times they shuttle,

Fearing the babies would be starved,

Strenuously labored for about a month’s spell,

Mother swallow grows thin but the babies fodgel,

Murmuringly into the babies swallow talk is instilled,

Pluming their feather each and all,

Once they have fledged in full,

Onto the courtyard tree branches they sail,

Spreading their wings they care not to recoil,

Following the wind they scatter at will,

No matter how hard the parents in the air wail,

Exhausting their energies they never come back at their beck and call,

Returning to their empty nestle,

All through the night they grievously bewail,

Swallow, swallow, you need not deplore,

Just reflect on what you did when you were a child,

How you betrayed your parents as juveniles,

How your parents missed and pined for you when you flew off,

How great the grief was to them now you should know.