Autumn: 4 by Tom Sharp

The capital has been a chessboard. The black pieces and white pieces have alternated for a hundred years. Today, I don’t recognize the officials; their uniforms no longer tell me their ranks. I knock on a door and a stranger opens it. Forces at the northern pass attack and retreat. At the capital, dealing with the war results in a frenzy of back and forth. Loneliness sleeps under the cold river. In the old days, the capital was my home and the country was prosperous and at peace.

秋兴 (四) by 杜甫 (Du Fu)

闻道长安似弈棋，百年世事不胜悲。 王侯第宅皆新主，文武衣冠异昔时。 直北关山金鼓振，征西车马羽书驰。 鱼龙寂寞秋江冷，故国平居有所思。