—Sent to My Neighbors
Yang Shih-ch’i (1365–1444)
A heavy rain crumbles a wall of my house;
I rise at night, grab my clothes, and run!
The wind enters the room, flapping the curtains;
water pours in a stream down the stairs.
The pots beneath the stove still not inundated;
quickly, I run to save the books on my desk.
If only I could be like my eastern and western neighbors:
calmly sleeping, not a thing to worry about.
Translated by Jonathan Chaves
The holder of the exalted position of Grand Secretary under four emperors, Yang Shih-ch’i was a brilliant political tactician. Few officials in Chinese history who rose to such prominence also achieved such a high degree of authority as poets.