Midnight Autumn Song
Li Bai
There is a moon in Chang'an, and the sound of thousands of households pounding their clothes.
The autumn wind can never blow away, but there is always love in Jade Pass.
On what day will the Huru ③ be defeated? The good man ④ will stop his expedition.
Notes
①Pound the clothes: Place the washed clothes on the anvil stone and pound them with a wooden pestle to remove the alkali. This refers to people preparing cold clothes.
②Yuguan: namely Yumenguan.
③渢: A contemptuous name for the enemy.
④Beloved: Husband.
Brief Analysis
The whole poem is written about the wife of her husband who was on an expedition in the autumn night, thinking about her husband who was on an expedition to the frontier, hoping that the war would end soon and her husband would not have to leave home to go on an expedition. Although it does not directly describe love, every word is permeated with sincere affection; although it does not talk about the current situation in a lofty manner, it does not stray away from the current situation. The emotions and meanings are all in keeping with the charm of frontier fortress poetry.