Living
The Pedlar of Spells
Translated by Arthur Waley (1918) · From A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems (1918)
Living
An old man selling charms in a cranny of the town wall.
He writes out spells to bless the silkworms and spells to protect the corn.
With the money he gets each day he only buys wine.
But he does not worry when his legs get wobbly,
For he has a boy to lean on.
Cite this poem
MLA
Yu, Lu. “The Pedlar of Spells.” Translated by Arthur Waley. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/lu-yu/0/.
Chicago
Yu, Lu. “The Pedlar of Spells.” Translated by Arthur Waley. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/lu-yu/0/.
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