— Meng Haoran
Lonely, lonely, what is there to hope for?
Day by day I come back without an end.
I would seek fragrant grass in native shore.
How I regret to part with my old friend!
I’m one whom those in high place would elude,
For there are few connoisseurs in the state.
I can but keep myself in solitude
And go back to close my old garden gate.
Note
Meng Haoran (689–740CE) was a leading landscape and pastoral poet of the High Tang period, admired for his quiet sincerity, love of nature, and portrayal of the recluse’s life. Unlike many of his peers who pursued official careers, Meng largely remained outside the imperial bureaucracy, though he deeply desired recognition. His poetry often reflects the tension between ambition and retreat, friendship and solitude.
His poem “Farewell to Wang Wei” (Liu Bie Wang Wei) was written when he decided to leave Chang’an after failing to secure an official post. Addressed to his close friend, the great poet Wang Wei, the verses express quiet despair and dignified resignation.
He opens with a sense of futility: “What am I waiting for in this silence? / Day after day, I return home empty-handed.” Knowing his hopes are unfulfilled, he resolves to “go seek fragrant grass” – a metaphor for returning to a simple, rustic life. Yet he laments parting from his dear friend, one of the rare true kindred spirits in a world where “patronage is denied” and “kindred souls are scarce.”
In the end, he accepts his fate: “I should simply embrace solitude / and close the gate to my old garden once more.” The poem blends personal sorrow with philosophical calm, capturing the bittersweet dignity of choosing integrity over compromise.
留别王维
— 孟浩然
寂寂竟何待，
朝朝空自归。
欲寻芳草去，
惜与故人违。
当路谁相假，
知音世所稀。
只应守寂寞，
还掩故园扉。
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