Poem: Autumn Waterside Songs 唐诗《秋浦歌十七首（其十五）》

Qiūpǔ Gē Shíqī Shǒu (Qí Shíwǔ)
秋浦歌十七首（其十五）
Lǐ Bái (Táng)
李白（唐）

Báifà sānqiān zhàng,
白发三千丈，
yuán chóu sì gè cháng!
缘愁似个长！
Bù zhī míngjìng lǐ,
不知明镜里，
héchù dé qiūshuān？
何处得秋霜？

Explanation

丈(zhàng): n.ten feets
绵长(miáncháng): adj.long
志向 (zhìxiàng) :n. ambition
怨愤(yuànfèn) ：n. resentment

evaluation

“缘”是“因为”的意思，“个”的意思是“这样”。
"缘(yuán)" means “because”, and “个(gè)” means “such; this way”.
白头发长了三千丈，因为我的忧愁也是这样绵长。不知镜中的自己，从哪里染上了秋霜？
The grey hair has grown to hundreds of meters which is as long as my sorrow. I look at my reflection in the mirror and wonder when and wher my hair has been colored grey.
诗人有着远大的志向，但还没等到实现，人却已经衰老。因此，他用极其夸张的手法写下了这首小诗，表达了自己心中蕴积的忧愁和怨愤。
Though ambitious the poet was, he has already become old and feeble before he could make his dream come true. The rhetoric device of extreme exaggeration is used in the poem to express his depression, discontent and complaint hidden deep in his heart.