Living
Too Poor to Entertain
Translated by William Jennings (1891) · From The Shi King (Jennings, 1891), Part I, Book x
Here is a lonely russet pear-tree
Grows on the left, beside the road.
Ah! yonder worthies might be willing
To visit me here in my abode.
And in my heart right well I love them.
But — meat and drink how should I give them?
Here is a lonely russet pear-tree
Grows where the road doth backward bend.
Ah, yonder worthies might be willing
To come, — an idle hour to spend.
And in my heart right well I love them.
But — meat and drink how should I give them?
Cite this poem
MLA
Shi Jing (The Book of Songs). “Too Poor to Entertain.” Translated by William Jennings. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/shi-jing/381/.
Chicago
Shi Jing (The Book of Songs). “Too Poor to Entertain.” Translated by William Jennings. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/shi-jing/381/.
Read this poem with the Codex →