Poems of an Afterlife Encounter, together with Dugu Mu, Linzi County Magistrate - PART D (end)

(6) Poem by the County Magistrate, Requesting Reburial
The dewy grass is lush, so lush—
My crumbling grave is not yet moved.
I, of course, within it dwell—
Thus far, it has been many years,
With my lord’s deceased ancestor.
Since then, his favor rippled on.
Living and dead, we’ve made a pact,
Suddenly dealing with each other—
Who calls this a delightful time?
I seek to comply—do not depart:
I’ll wait until my lord goes north,
Then hand in hand we’ll both return.

(7) Mu’s Reply to the County Magistrate
As for that place that’s called Weiyang,
In heaven there was one direction:
I spurred my horse for long, so long,
Abruptly coming to this strange place.
Our feelings met, secret and seen,
And reached a meeting with each other.
It’s righteous, as in days of old,
To say we live in loving bondage.
A river clear with cassia isle—
It’s possible to wander ’round,
But with the death of my dear one,
There’s no change to delay departure.

露草芊芊，
颓茔未迁。
自我居此，
于今几年。
与君先祖，
畴昔恩波。
死生契阔，
忽此相过。
谁谓佳期，
寻当别离。
俟君之北，
携手同归。〈县主请迁葬诗〉

伊彼维扬，
在天一方。
驱马悠悠，
忽来异乡。
情通幽显，
获此相见。
义感畴昔，
言存缱绻。
清江桂洲，
可以遨游。
惟子之故，
不遑淹留。〈穆答县主〉

Note on the sixth poem: Again, the four-character lines are very old-fashioned, harkening back to the Classic of Poetry. (You can remove that pin now.) My sense is this gives this (and the next) poem a formal tone.

Note on the seventh poem: Weiyang is yet another name for Youzhou.

BTW, remember how the magistrate first appeared with another woman? Yeah, she never gets mentioned again. What's her story?

[TN: And that finally finishes this episode … woofs!]

---L.