Moring Voyage Across the Taihe River

Introducion:

Spring has returned with luxuriant foliage of the willows and a mass of the apricot blossoms around. Over there the river is quietly, rising and swelling.    

Text:

èr yuè yī rì xiǎo dù tài hé jiāng sān shǒu

二　月一日晓　渡太 和 江    三   首（其一）

（宋）杨万里

lǜ yáng jiē yè xìng jiāo huā

绿 杨   接 叶 杏   交   花，

nèn shuǐ xīn shēng shàng lù shā

 嫩    水  新    生     尚      露  沙。

guò le chūn jiāng ǒu huí shǒu

 过 了 春    江   偶   回   首，

gé jiāng yí piàn hǎo rén jiā

隔   江   一 片   好  人 家。

Moring Voyage Across the Taihe River

Yang Wanli (Song)

The apricots bloom, the willows in entwined green swing,

The sands above the newly rising waters lurk still.

As I cast a backward gaze across the river of spring,

I see in the distance a pleasant hamlet with a thrill.

Comment:

The poet is expert in discovering and presenting beauty in life. Look, spring has returned with luxuriant foliage of the willows and a mass of the apricot blossoms around. Over there the river is quietly, rising and swelling. Owing to the fertile imagination of the poet, the green willows, the apricot blossoms, the rising water, the sands and stones seem to have come alive and animated. They are now whispering and talking about how to embellish the land with enchanting scenes of spring.

What about the distant views besides the immediate scenes? The poet leaves the bank lined with willows and apricots and takes a ferryboat to the other bank. Gazing inadvertently across the river, the poet sees the variegation of the trees, flowers and the river embroidered with intriguing hazy beauty.