乌栖曲[1]
姑苏台上乌栖时，
吴王宫里醉西施。
吴歌楚舞[2]欢未毕，
青山欲衔半边日。
银箭金壶[3]漏水多，
起看秋月坠江波，
东方渐高[4]奈乐何！
《乌栖曲》是乐府旧题，但李白写的却非情歌艳曲。开篇写得虽是奢靡之境，却极简练，寥寥数笔，就勾画出日落时分姑苏台上吴宫的轮廓和宫中美人醉态朦胧的剪影，且更具象征意义。乌鸦代表衰败，夕阳下昏暗的吴宫，没有一丝帝王将相该有的文治武功之象，使人联想到吴国正在走向没落。在这样的氛围中，却有不合时宜的豪歌痛饮，欢未毕而时已暮。滴漏声声，长夜消逝，欢乐难继，好梦不再。享乐者的夜未央之梦，也必将破碎。诡异的表象下是鲜明的对照，诗人揭示了贪图享受的统治者的内心，讽刺当权者荒淫无道，不问国政。
注释：
[1]乌栖曲：乐府《清商曲辞》西曲歌调名。
[2]吴歌楚舞：吴楚两国的歌舞。
[3]银箭金壶：指刻漏，古时候的计时工具。
[4]东方渐高（hào）：东方渐晓；高，同“皜”，白色，这里指晓色。
Crows Going Back to Their Nest—Satire on the King of Wu[1]
O’er Royal Terrace when crows flew back to their nest,
The king in Royal Palace feast’d his mistress drunk.
The Southern maidens sang and danced without a rest
Till beak-like mountain-peaks would peck the sun half sunk.
The golden clepsydra could not stop water’s flow,
O’er river waves the autumn moon was hanging low.
But wouldn’t the king enjoy his fill in Eastern glow?
注释：
[1]The king of Wu held perpetual revelries with his favorite mistress Xi Shi in his Royal Palace in the 5th century B.C.
