登柳州城楼寄漳汀封连四州刺史

柳宗元

登柳州城楼寄漳汀封连四州刺史

城上高楼接大荒， 海天愁思正茫茫。

惊风乱飐芙蓉水， 密雨斜侵薜荔墙。

岭树重遮千里目， 江流曲似九回肠。

共来百越文身地， 犹自音书滞一乡。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Liu Zongyuan

FROM THE CITY-TOWER OF LIUZHOU

TO MY FOUR FELLOW-OFFICIALS AT ZHANG,

DING, FENG, AND LIAN DISTRICTS

At this lofty tower where the town ends, wilderness begins;

And our longing has as far to go as the ocean or the sky....

Hibiscus-flowers by the moat heave in a sudden wind,

And vines along the wall are whipped with slanting rain.

Nothing to see for three hundred miles but a blur of woods and mountain ——

And the river’s nine loops, twisting in our bowels....

This is where they have sent us, this land of tattooed people ——

And not even letters, to keep us in touch with home.