Arts & Sciences

The Poem on the Wall

by Po Chü-i 772–846

Translated by Arthur Waley (1919) · From More Translations from the Chinese (1919)

Arts & Sciences

My clumsy poem on the inn-wall none cared to see.
With bird-droppings and moss’s growth the letters were blotched away.
There came a guest with heart so full, that though a page to the
Throne,
He did not grudge with his broidered coat to wipe off the dust, and
read.

MLA

Chü-i, Po. “The Poem on the Wall.” Translated by Arthur Waley. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/po-chu-i/69/.

Chicago

Chü-i, Po. “The Poem on the Wall.” Translated by Arthur Waley. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/po-chu-i/69/.

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