问秋

——网络作品赏析

我问秋风何时愁，秋风笑我何事忧。  

不过红尘一过客，何苦悯春又悲秋。  

且随落叶寻清趣，莫让凡思锁眉头。  

待到霜寒梅绽日，快邀明月共登楼。

Asking Autumn

 — A Contemporary Online Poem

I asked the autumn wind when it feels sorrow,  

The autumn wind laughed: why should I worry so?  

But a passing guest through the dusty world am I,  

Why mourn for spring or grieve when autumn goes by?  

Let me follow the falling leaves and seek some quiet delight,  

And not let worldly cares press my brows tight.  

When the frosty days bring plum blossoms in snow,  

I shall gladly invite the bright moon to ascend the tower with me.

About the Poem

Asking Autumn is a modern poem circulated online. Though its title sounds ancient, it is not a work of the Tang or Song dynasties. Written in the style of a regulated verse, it borrows classical imagery and dialogue techniques, yet expresses a contemporary reflection on life and one’s state of mind.

Appreciation

The poem begins with a question-and-answer, vivid and immediate:

“I asked the autumn wind when it feels sorrow, / The autumn wind laughed: why should I worry so?”

Here the personified autumn wind dissolves the human sense of melancholy with gentle humor, turning grief into wisdom.

The second couplet—“But a passing guest through the dusty world am I, / Why mourn for spring or grieve when autumn goes by?”—speaks directly of life’s transience. Like a traveler through the mortal world, why waste emotion on the cycle of seasons? The tone is candid and open.

The third couplet—“Let me follow the falling leaves and seek some quiet delight, / And not let worldly cares press my brows tight”—moves into self-consolation. The falling leaves bring not desolation but a chance for calm enjoyment. The lines carry a practical advice: release anxiety, live lightly.

The final couplet—“When the frosty days bring plum blossoms in snow, / I shall gladly invite the bright moon to ascend the tower with me”—transforms the mood. From autumn sorrow it turns toward the resilience of plum blossoms and the brightness of the moon, symbols of hope and clarity. The vision is uplifting and leaves the reader with lingering resonance.

Conclusion

Although a product of the internet age, Asking Autumn successfully combines the form of classical Chinese verse with the sentiment of modern life. It continues the tradition of “lamenting autumn,” yet reshapes it into an attitude of openness and cheerfulness. Simple in wording, fresh in imagery, it is a graceful piece of modern pseudo-classical poetry worth appreciating.