始作镇军参军经曲阿作
弱龄寄事外，委怀在琴书。
被[1]褐欣自得，屡空常晏如[2]。
时[3]来苟[4]冥会[5]，宛辔[6]憩通衢。
投策[7]命晨装，暂与园田疏。
眇眇孤舟逝，绵绵归思纡[8]。
我行岂不遥，登降[9]千里余。
目倦川途异，心念山泽居。
望云惭高鸟，临水愧游鱼。
真想[10]初在襟，谁谓形迹拘？
聊且凭化迁，终返班生[11]庐。
公元404年，陶渊明40岁，为生活所迫，出任镇军将军刘裕的参军，赴京口（今江苏镇江）上任。往昔的生活经历使他对官场的黑暗已经有了十分深切的了解，口腹自役，这与作者的本性又格格不入，行经曲阿（今江苏丹阳）时，写下了这首诗，诉说内心的矛盾和苦闷。
全诗可分为4段。“弱龄寄事外，委怀在琴书”说的是年少时对世俗没有兴趣，只倾心于弹琴和读书，借指诗人年轻时就有淡泊自持之志。“宛辔憩通衢”说的是暂时栖身登仕途,说明诗人是迫不得已出仕的，认为与田园的分别是暂时的。“眇眇孤舟逝”说的是孤舟遥遥逐渐越来越远。表达了诗人不舍，又因充满了险恶风波的仕途而思归之情达到了极点，甚至看见飞鸟、游鱼内心不免产生后悔情绪，以及对此行的厌倦和自责情绪。“谁谓形迹拘”说的是岂会被拘束,诗人自我安慰鼓励自己，从后悔情绪中挣脱出来而对自我的重新肯定。随运顺化，终返田园。表现了诗人不喜不惧的道家人生态度，尽显真实思想和决心。
注释：
[1]被：同“披”，穿着。
[2]晏如：安然快乐的样子。
[3]时：时机。
[4]苟：苟且，暂且。
[5]冥会：很自然的吻合。
[6]辔（pèi）：驾驭牲口的缰绳和嚼子。
[7]策：手杖。
[8]纡：魂牵梦绕。
[9]降：指穿过河流。
[10]真想：纯洁朴素的思想。
[11]班生：班固，东汉史学家、文学家。
On My River Journey
While young, I used to be carefree,
Only indulged in lute and books.
Plain dress did not reduced my glee,
Nor did course food impair my looks.
As chance would have it, disinclined,
I drove up my official way.
Staff in hand, I made up my mind
To leave my garden for a day.
Far, far away goes my lonely boat;
Long, long my home thoughts haunt my heart.
Is it not a long journey afloat?
A thousand miles keep us apart.
Changing river scenes tire the eye;
Of hillside cot my mind still dreams.
Seeing birds and clouds, I feel shy
And envy fish swimming in streams.
To nature I’ve ever been true.
Who says my mind is matter-bound?
But the current I must go through,
Then in seclusion I’ll be found.
《始作镇军参军经曲阿作》是晋宋之际文学家陶渊明创作的一首五言诗。此诗作于赴任途中，而反复抒发对田园自由生活的深深怀念之情，反映了诗人出仕与复归的矛盾心理。全诗可分四段。首四句为第一段，自叙年轻时淡泊自持之志；次四句为第二段，对自己的出仕之缘由作了解释；接着八句为第三段，叙述诗人旅途所感；最后四句为第四段，叙写诗人今后立身行事的打算。此诗情景交融，语言看似平淡，实为精妙。
A poem in five lines written by Tao Yuanming, a literary scholar of the Jin and Song dynasties. The poem was written on the way to his post, but repeatedly expresses his deep nostalgia for the free life in the countryside, reflecting the poet’s ambivalence between his career and his return. The whole poem can be divided into four stanzas. The first four stanzas are the first paragraph, in which the poet describes his youthful ambition to be indifferent and self-sufficient; the second four stanzas are the second paragraph, in which he explains the reason for his departure; the next eight stanzas are the third paragraph, in which the poet describes his feelings on the journey; the last four stanzas are the fourth paragraph, in which the poet describes his future plans to establish himself. The poem is a blend of scenes and scenes, and the language is seemingly bland but actually subtle.
