答曼叔见寄

You and I once lived as neighbors in the same lane,

With staff in hand, we often visited each other's door.

No thought of mine you failed to ponder and explain,

And every song I sang, you echoed evermore.

In spring we roamed the southern paths with hearts so light,

In summer's heat we lounged by north window, cool and free.

Drunk on virtue's joy, we let the seasons take their flight,

Unaware how years slipped by, how time would cease to be.

But you embarked on journeys bound by office chain,

Each step entangled in the duties you must bear.

Though Xiangcheng is a town not distant from the plain,

Your post holds heavy burdens, weighty with much care.

For you to come to me would truly be a strain,

So I shall go to you—this course is just and fair.

Just as the sky clears after a refreshing rain,

Green trees hang down their branches, lush and debonair.

I spur my horse and gaze toward the city wall,

Where blue hills blend with rising smoke from hearths below.

I shed my robe, all worldly worries fade and fall,

As moonlight spills through blinds, a pure and silver glow.

I pity that your rank is low, a minor call,

Yet your high spirit stands unbroken, brave through all.

You say your duties leave you leisure, after all,

To study classics daily, answering wisdom's thrall.

You've penned a hundred poems, words in balance set,

Each line composed with grace, in measured calm and ease.

Though less than one full year since we last met,

Your fair renown already spreads on every breeze.

I feel ashamed, like chaff that's coarse and incomplete,

Almost unseen when winnowed by the wind's keen beat.

I send these lines not as repayment, but to greet,

And warn my slothful soul, in humble self-defeat.