王十二兄[1]与畏之[2]员外相访见招小饮时予以悼亡日近[3]不去因寄

谢傅[4]门庭旧末行,

今朝歌管属檀郎[5]。

更无人处帘垂地,

欲拂尘时簟竟床。

嵇氏幼男[6]犹可悯,

左家娇女[7]岂能忘。

秋霖腹疾[8]俱难遣,

万里西风夜正长。

宣宗大中五年(851年)春夏之交,李商隐的妻子王氏病故,诗人遭受巨大打击。这年秋天,商隐的内兄王十二和连襟韩瞻邀请李商隐前往王家小饮。诗人因王氏亡故未久,心绪不好,没有应邀。之后写了这首诗寄给王、韩二人,解释不能前去的原因,抒写了对王氏深切的悼亡之情。

注释:

[1]王十二兄:诗人岳父王茂元之子。

[2]畏之:诗人的连襟韩瞻。

[3]悼亡日近:指诗人的妻子去世不久。

[4]谢傅:东晋大臣谢安,死后赠太傅,这里以谢傅门庭借指岳父王茂元家。

[5]檀郎:晋潘岳小字檀奴,貌美,人称檀郎,唐人常以此谓为女婿。

[6]嵇氏幼男:晋代嵇绍,为嵇康之子,十岁丧母。

[7]左家娇女:晋代大诗人左思有二女,作有《娇女诗》。

[8]秋霖腹疾:指淫雨引起的腹泻。

An Invitation Declined

Thank you for your invitation to wine,

But this pleasure today I must decline.

Who’d help me to draw my curtains apart

Or dust my lonely bed with broken heart?

Who would take care of my motherless son

And my daughter who lost her dearest one?

Could I be dried up after drenching rain?

The cold windy night will long long remain.

Note:The poet declined the invitation of his brothers-in-law after the mourning day of his deceased wife.