Cai Yan’s Oldest Lament

cai yan

Too often covered by frost and snow,
foreign winds blow through my robes,
within my dwelling, shrill in my ears.

Whenever guests arrive from afar,
I start to make joy of their tidings,
throwing out eagerest questions.

Then I discover they did not come
from any place near my own village,
so I lose no time — and revisit anger.

My oldest emotions have been stirred —
so I shudder again with my longest sighs
— filled with endless, senseless sorrows.

. . . . . . .

Cento created by Susan Powers Bourne
Source: excerpt of “Poem of Sorrow and Anger”
Found: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cai_Yan