Living
Song of the Plantain-Gatherers
Translated by William Jennings (1891) · From The Shi King (Jennings, 1891), Part I, Book i
To gather, to gather the plantain,
To gather it in, we go;
To gather, to gather the plantain,
See now we begin, yoho!
We gather, we gather the plantain,
Ho this is the way 'tis clipped!
We gather, we gather the plantain,
And so are the seeds all stripped!
We've gathered, we've gathered the plantain,
Ho now in our skirts 'tis placed;
We've gathered, we've gathered the plantain,
Now bundled, see, round each waist!
Cite this poem
MLA
Shi Jing (The Book of Songs). “Song of the Plantain-Gatherers.” Translated by William Jennings. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/shi-jing/306/.
Chicago
Shi Jing (The Book of Songs). “Song of the Plantain-Gatherers.” Translated by William Jennings. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/shi-jing/306/.
Read this poem with the Codex →