When a Guest 1 Arrives
Du, Fu (712-770 CE)
Spring floods lie north and south of my cottage.
My only guests are a flock of gulls that come every day.
Due to the absence of visitors the flower path has never been swept.
It is for you that my humble door now opens for the first time.
The meal lacks variety because the market is far away.
The wine in the barrel is old and unfiltered because I am poor.
If you are willing to drink with my old neighbor,
I will call through the bamboo fence 2
Asking him to come over and finish the wine with us.
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1
Mayor Cui visited Du's house because he admired Du's poetry.
2
A bamboo fence has small cracks through which sound can travel.
