Bai Juyi: Inside a Boat Reading Aloud Yuan the Ninth’s Poetry

Inside a Boat Reading Aloud Yuan the Ninth’s Poetry

舟 中 读 元 九 诗

把 君 诗 卷 灯 前 读
诗 尽 灯 残 天 未 明。

眼 痛 灭 灯 犹 暗 坐
逆 风 吹 浪 打 般 声。

Zhou Zhong Du Yuan Jiu Shi

Ba jun shi juan deng qian du
Shi jin deng can tian wei ming.                                                                                           Yan tong mie deng you an zuo
Ni feng chui lang da ban sheng.

Inside a Boat Reading Aloud Yuan the Ninth’s Poetry

Holding a scroll of your poetry, reading it aloud before the lantern
Poems in a deficient light, the sky has not yet brightened.

Eyes in pain, so I snuff out the lantern and sit in darkness
Going against the blowing wind, sounds from the waves hitting the boat.

Commentary:

Boy does this man know how to write poetry!