登柳州城楼寄漳汀封连四州刺史
柳宗元
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。
FROM THE CITY-TOWER OF LIUZHOU
TO MY FOUR FELLOW-OFFICIALS AT ZHANG,
DING, FENG, AND LIAN DISTRICTS
Liu Zongyuan
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.
