Qingming Festival Rain (translation)
Jim Maybury

                                                    The spring flood reaching

                                                                  our houses,

                                                      rain becomes

                                                                  heavier and heavier.

                                                      My hut is like

                                                                  a fishing boat,

                                                      inside a dim mist

                                                                  like fog.

                                                      Damp straw burns

                                                                  in the earthen stove,

                                                      a pot boiling

                                                                  soggy vegetables.

                                                      I forget it is

                                                                  Qingming,

                                                      until outside I find a crow

                                                                  holding paper money

                                                                  in its mouth.

                                                      My hovel is far from

                                                                  the Emperor's mansion,

                                                      and I long to visit

                                                                  my ancestors' tombs.

                                                      I too predict

                                                                  my journey will end

                                                                  in tears,

                                                      dead ashes

                                                                  that cannot be revived.

                                                                                                      --Su Dongpo