Replying to Magistrate Lu of Jinling on an Early Spring Outing
English translation and interpretation are being reviewed.
偏惊物候新。
云霞出海曙，
梅柳渡江春。
淑气催黄鸟，
晴光转绿蘋。
忽闻歌古调，
归思欲沾巾。
English translation
Only the official wandering far from home is most startled by the season's renewal.
Clouds and rosy light bring the dawn from the sea, plum and willow carry spring across the river.
The mild air urges on the yellow oriole, the clear sunshine turns the green duckweed.
Suddenly I hear you sing an ancient air, and longing for home wets my handkerchief.
Meaning
Only one who has left home to serve as an official grows especially sensitive to the changes of scene and season.
Clouds and rosy mist rise from the sea and dye the dawn light; plum and willow put forth buds and green, and spring runs with the river across the south of the Yangtze.
The warm spring air urges the orioles to sing note after note, and the bright sunshine makes the duckweed a deeper green.
Suddenly I hear you recite your fine old-style verses, and at once the longing for home rises in me, and tears all but wet my collar.
Background
Read the background
While serving in Jiangyin county, Du Shenyan and a certain Lu were colleagues of neighboring counties in the same commandery; their outing together and exchange of poems probably belongs to that time. Lu's original poem should have been "An Outing in Early Spring," whose content is no longer known. This poem was written by Du Shenyan in reply to it.