Youthful Wanderer (Liu Yong)
Text
English translation
Original Chinese text
长安古道马迟迟，高柳乱蝉嘶。夕阳岛外，秋风原上，目断四天垂。
English translation
Along the old road near Chang’an, the horse moves slowly beneath tall willows filled with restless cicadas. The sun sinks beyond the islets; autumn wind crosses the open plain. I gaze until sight fails, with the low sky closing in on every side.
Original Chinese text
归云一去无踪迹，何处是前期？狎兴生疏，酒徒萧索，不似去年时。
English translation
Once the returning clouds drift away, no trace remains. Where is the meeting we once promised? The old pleasures of intimacy have grown unfamiliar; companions for wine are few and scattered. Nothing is as it was last year.
词句注释 · Notes
上片 · First stanza
上片用慢行的马、聒噪的秋蝉、夕阳和原野构成一幅空阔而迟滞的行旅图。“目断四天垂”写远望无尽，也暗含心境压抑。
The stanza builds a wide yet slow-moving travel scene from the unhurried horse, noisy autumn cicadas, setting sun, and open plain. The gaze reaching the edge of sight suggests both distance and emotional heaviness.
下片 · Second stanza
下片由归云触发对旧约的追问，随后点出人事变迁：相聚的兴致淡了，酒友散了。结尾“去年时”把眼前萧索与往日热闹直接对照。
The returning clouds prompt a question about a promised reunion. The poem then names what has changed: intimacy has cooled and drinking companions have dispersed. “Last year” sets the present desolation directly against a livelier past.