Wang Wei Poem: At Parting – 王维《送别》

送别

王维

下马饮君酒，

问君何所之。

君言不得意，

归卧南山陲。

但去莫复问，

白云无尽时。

At Parting

Wang Wei

Dismounted, I drink with you

And ask what you’ve in view.

“I can’t do what I will;

So I’ll do what I will;

I’ll ask you no more, friend,

Let clouds drift without end!”

This poet speaks of their love of freedom at their parting.

《送别》是唐代诗人王维创作的一首五言古诗。这是首送友人归隐的诗，采用问答的方式从友人口中说出归隐的原因，也表现了诗人复杂的思想感情。诗人对友人关切爱护，既劝慰友人又对友人的归隐生活流露出羡慕之情，说明诗人对自己的现实也不很满意。全诗语言看似平淡无奇，但最后两句却顿增诗意，可谓词浅情深，蕴含着不尽的意味。

“At Parting” is an ancient poem in five lines written by Wang Wei, a poet of the Tang Dynasty. It is a poem about sending a friend back to seclusion. It uses a question-and-answer style to tell the reason for his return to seclusion from his friend’s mouth, and also expresses the poet’s complex thoughts and feelings. The poet shows concern and love for his friend, both to console him and to show his envy for his retired life, indicating that the poet is not very satisfied with his own reality either. The language of the poem seems to be plain and uninteresting, but the last two lines add poetic meaning to the poem, and the words can be described as shallow and deep, containing inexhaustible meaning.