Wu Ke Poem: Written in Autumn for My Cousin Jia Dao – 无可《秋寄从兄贾 岛》
秋寄从兄 [1] 贾岛 无可 暝 [2] 虫喧 [3] 暮色， 默思坐西林 [4] 。 听雨寒更 [5] 彻 [6] ， 开门落叶深。 昔因京邑病 [7] ， 并起洞庭心 [8] 。 亦是吾兄事， 迟回共 [9] 至今。 注释： [1] 从兄：堂房亲属，堂哥，伯父或叔父家比自己大的儿子。 [2] 暝：一作“暗”。日落，天黑。 [3] 暄：叫。 [4] 西林：古寺名。位于江西庐山。 [5] 更：夜里的计时单位，一夜分为五更，每更约两小时。 [6] 彻：一作“尽”。贯通。 [7] 京邑病：指贾岛进京科考，失利之后的忧愤心理。 [8] 洞庭心：归隐的想法。 [9] 共：一作“直”。共同。 Written in Autumn for My Cousin Jia Dao Wu Ke The crickets’ chirp breaks twilight late; In the West Wood I meditate. I hear a shower cold which grieves, But outdoors I see fallen leaves. The capital’s weal and woe wake Our dream to float on Dongting Lake. Sink or swim, you will go your way; You won’t come back but go astray, The poet, a monk, advises his cousin who was once a monk too, to float on the lake after his failure in the civil service examinations and not to go astray once more.