舟中读元九诗
把君诗卷灯前读，
诗尽灯残天未明。
眼痛灭灯犹暗坐，
逆风吹浪打船声。
白居易被贬江州，离开长安，南下襄阳，然后坐船东去九江。他在船上伴着荧荧的灯火，读着元稹的诗卷，想着共同的遭遇，不免兴起同是天涯沦落人之感。满腔汹涌澎湃的感情，使他无法安枕；江上翻腾起伏的狂风巨浪，仿佛在为他的心情伴奏。诗中用了三个“灯”字：灯前、灯残、灭灯，灯光由高而低，风浪却由低而高，更从正反两面衬托出诗人悲愤不平的心情。
Reading Yuan Zhen’s Poems on a Boat
I read your book of poetry by the lamplight,
And finish it when oil burns low at dead of night.
Eyes sore, I blow the light out and sit in the dark;
The waves brought up by adverse wind beat on the bark.
《舟中读元九诗》是唐代诗人白居易的作品。此诗以凄苦为基调，运用了白描的手法，通过“灯残”、“诗尽”、“眼痛”、“暗坐”这些词语所展示的环境、氛围、色彩，表现出对元稹的关切、思念之情。前三句连用“灯”字，创设出“灯前读诗”、“诗尽灯残”、“灭灯暗坐”三个意象，创造了一种黑夜中凄清的环境，思念中凄苦的心情，贬谪中凄凉的人生的意境。
The poem “Reading Yuan Zhen’s Poems on a Boat” is a work by Bai Juyi, a poet of the Tang Dynasty. The poem has a poignant tone and uses the technique of white description to show the concern and longing for Yuan Zhen through the words “the lamp is broken”, “the poem is finished”, “the eyes are aching” and “sitting in the dark”. The poem uses white descriptions to express the concern and longing for Yuan Zhen through the environment, atmosphere and colors shown by the words “the lamp is broken”, “the poem is finished”, “the eyes are sore” and “sitting in the dark”. The first three lines use the word “lamp” in succession, creating the words “reading poetry before the lamp”, “poetry finished with the lamp” and “sitting in the dark with the lamp out”. These three imageries create a mood of miserable environment in the dark night, miserable mood in longing, and miserable life in relegation.
